THE RIPPLE EFFECT, BOOK 1: THREE DAYS
by H.G. Stewart
Summary: The Duke boys are in a real mess this time, and it looks like Luke's gonna get in a whole lot more before it's all over. This one's for all you angst lovers out there, so I expect a lot of reviews!
1. Chapter 1

_It was a beautiful spring mornin' in Hazzard County. The bees was buzzin' the birds was singin' and everybody seemed to be congrigatin' outside after a long winter nap. It was just the type of day that was perfect for a ride in the General Lee. And that's exactly what Luke was doin'._

"This here's Shepard callin' lost sheep." Uncle Jesse sang cheerfully over the CB.

Luke picked up the CB handle. "Lost Sheep here Uncle Jesse."

"Where in tarnation are ya? I thought you'd be back from the post office by now."

"Sorry Shepard. It's such a nice mornin' I thought I'd drive around a bit."

"Well I can't blame ya for that. It's just a minute ago that I finally tore myself away from the rockin' chair on the front porch, but when I did, I discovered a very interestin' fact."

"What's that, Shepard?"

"The chores didn't do themselves. Not a bit. And with Bo bein' out of town since yesterday at that Nascar race and all, it's gonna take longer to get 'em done."

"I read ya Shepard. Over and out."

Luke continued down the road at a pace that would be considered normal for anyone except the Duke boys. He was in no hurry to get to the farm today as it was the first good day of the season for plowing. Without Bo to help and Jesse too old to do more than he normally expected of himself, Luke had a long day ahead of him.

Spying something unusual ahead, he pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. At the side was a long abandoned driveway blocked off by two poles across which a chain usually stretched. This time, however, the chain was loosed and fell to the side.

"Luke got out and examined the chain. The padlock was still locked tight, simply being used to loop the chain back onto itself. He quickly realized it was more of a deterrent than any sort of security as the loop would simply slide back down onto the pole as needed.

Luke thought and smiled a little. "Wonder if Carly is back in town?"

Carly was an old girlfriend of Luke's. They had parted on good terms two years earlier when she and her family moved closer to Atlanta where she planned to pursue her doctorate degree. Maybe she was back, or maybe someone was messing with their property. Either way, Luke decided to check it out. He climbed back into the General and made his way to the old homestead.

The old place hadn't changed much since Luke had been there last. Aside from a few overgrown shrubs and a yard full of weeds, it was exactly the same.

Luke looked through all the windows of the farmhouse before deciding to check out the barn that was just off to the side. Not seeing anything suspicious right off hand, he decided to climb the ladder to the loft. This place brought back some memories. It was the place where he and Carly had spent their last evening together, gazing at the stars among other things.

Deciding that the place was secure enough, he decide to lay back on the hay, reminiscing about his time with Carly. Moments later, he heard a movement. He jerked up to see a face staring at him from the top of the ladder. It was vagely familiar, but Luke couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Well well well, if it isn't the one and only Luke Duke."

The man's mouth twisted into an ugly grin as he pointed a gun at Luke. "I'm mighty glad to see you. You saved us all that trouble of tracking you down and dragging you back here, didn't he Horace?"

"He sure did Charlie." A voice at the bottom of the ladder, apparently belonging to 'Horace' replied.

Luke had his hands up. "Look, I don't know what this is all about but….."

"You don't know? Well, you just come down this ladder here nice and easy and we'll be glad to refresh your memory."

Luke slowly walked toward the ladder with his hands up. As soon as he was close enough, he let out a swift kick, knocking the gun free from Charlie's hand. Charlie, startled, fell backward, landing on his friend as the gun hit the ground and went off.

Luke turned with lightning speed and grabbed on to the rope that was suspended just outside the loft window. Quickly climbing down hand over hand, he reached the ground and quickly ran for the General Lee.

He never made it.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Uh, my head."

Luke shook his head, trying to clear it of the cobwebs. "Uncle Jesse? Daisy?"

"They're all right-for now."

The statement suddenly brought Luke back to his senses. He opened his eyes to see Charlie there, cleaning his gun and sporting a swollen and bruised cheek-apparently from the fall. It didn't take Luke long to recognize the interior of Carly's old house.

"Okay what do you want from me?" Luke asked in a matter of fact way.

"Actually Mr. Duke, I don't want nothin' from you. I just want you to help me recover what was rightfully mine in the first place."

"Righfully y…..wait a minute." Luke said, holding up a finger as a memory fought it's way to the forefront of his mind. "You're Charlie Mantooth. And Horace, if I remember right, is your brother."

Charlie smirked and nodded his head. "They always said you's the smart one. It's been over a year since you and that blond-haired cousin of yours caught up to us after we robbed that bank and you still remember the details."

"Well, it wadn't anything personal." Luke replied, holding his head where he had been hit. "It's just that the whole thing got pinned on my cousin 'n me and we had to prove our innocence."

"Well, sounds like it was a personal problem to me. The facts of the matter are that that we cleared over $50000.00 from that bank, and that's how much we'll be collectin' from you before you'n your family can sleep sweet at night again. You got that, country boy?"

"Fifty thousand dollars? Look I don't have that money. It all went back to the bank."

"Again, it sounds like a personal problem to me. Now we didn't go through all that trouble of breaking out of jail to become a couple of paupers on the run. Now you find a way to get our money and you find a way quick or you'll regret it, you'll regret it a lot." He finished by handing Luke a photo.

The photo showed what appeared to be a grave in a cemetery, although Luke didn't recognize it as any of the ones in Hazzard. However, a few new arrangements and the lack of a tombstone told Luke it was new.

"Is this supposed to mean that if I don't do what you say, you'll kill me?"

"Oh no." Charlie shook his head. "You won't be any good to me dead. What I'm trying to tell you is that if you come through for me, I just might tell you where that grave is."

"And why would I be interested in that?"

"Well, I figure you'd be real interested in findin' it. I know yer cousin's interested."

"Daisy?" Luke asked.

"Uh uh." Charlie shook his head. "Blondie."

Luke didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean?"

Charlie snickered. "You don't find it unusual that you haven't heard from him since early yesterday?"

Luke felt a sense of dread. "He's out of town on a trip to a race. We didn't think much about it."

"Well, that's good for me anyway. Made it a whole lot easier to handle your cousin when he got…shall we say….sidetracked from his trip."

Luke's eyes widened in realization as he looked at the photograph again. "If you've killed him I swear I'll….."

"Calm down." Charlie interrupted. " He ain't dead-yet. 'Least I don't think he is. I'm pretty sure there's plenty of oxygen goin' down that tube."

Luke shook his head in confusion. "What tube?"

Charlie smirked. "Didn't you look at the picture?"

Luke studied the picture for a moment longer. He hadn't thought much about the cylinder shaped object-a pvc pipe- sticking out of the ground before, not until Charlie pointed to a small box partially obscured by some of the flowers. Luke had to strain to see it, but he finally noticed the word 'oxygen' and an almost invisible tube inching from the oxygen chamber , inserted into the pipe.

Luke's eyes widened in shock. "You mean to tell me that Bo's been buried alive?"

Charlie smiled. "See, you are the smart one."

_Looks like Bo got a free ticket to the great beyond._


	2. Chapter 2

(Due to some strange computer problems, I am not able to edit the balladeer's comments to be in italics, hopefully I can get this straightened out soon. You can probably pick them out anyway!) 

Luke's immediate reaction was to jump up, but Charlie was quick on his feet, too. He pointed the gun at Luke before shoving him hard onto the bed again.

"So you're a little hothead, huh? Seems to run in the family. I'll let you know up front, that's a trait that really gets on my nerves. You see, my original intention for your cousin, Bo, was just to kidnap him, to hold him tied up somewhere until you could come up with the money. But even after a good solid beating wouldn't shut him up, I got tired and did what I had to do to keep him alive and put and keep myself sane."

"Nobody sane could do what you've done." Luke replied. "If that's really is what you did. How do I know for sure that Bo's in that grave?"

Charlie smiled. "Well I had a feeling that question might come up, so I took a few more pictures."

Charlie handed him a new stack which Luke nervously took from him. The first photo showed the same grave in the cemetery, only this time, the grave was opened up. The next photo showed a clearly angry Bo Duke with his hands and feet bound, sitting up against the tombstone of the adjoining grave. He sported some bruises and it was clear that he wasn't taking the situation at hand too lightly. The next photo showed an unconscious Bo with some fresh lines of red blood on the side of his head as he was being lifted into an inexpensive wooden coffin. The last picture showed a view of the bottom of the grave, the coffin in place with a few shovelfuls of dirt on top. The only thing unusual about the photo was the long thin pvc pipe that stretched from the wooden box to just above the ground. The final picture was the first one Luke had seen.

"How um…." The normally tough Luke began, sniffing a bit. "….how much air….I mean, how long do I have?"

"Oh don't you worry about the air. Horace is on his way there to check it now. We'll make sure he's kept alive for three days. That should be enough time for you to come up with a plan."

Ain't time a funny thing? In some instances, three days can seem like forever, in others, it can seem incredibly short.

Without much choice, Luke responded. "I'll do what I can."

"Well that's in your best interest isn't it?"

Luke didn't respond, but looked at the photo of Bo instead.

"If you're going to meet your deadline, I suggest you get started. You're free to go. Oh, I'll take those." Charlie announced, snatching the photos from Luke's hand.

Luke slowly walked toward the door, still too unsteady from the blow to his head to go fast.

"Oh, and Luke?"

Luke stopped without turning around.

"Horace and I plan to retire under assumed names somewhere, and if too many people know what's going on, that's not going to happen. So I wouldn't tell anyone what's going on if I were you."

Luke swallowed as he added one final statement.

"And to help you remember that, we've planted a bug. Now it could be in your car, it could be in your barn, your house, your uncle's truck, even your friend's garage. The point is, we will be listening, and if we even suspect that you've told anyone, or that you're doing anything other than coming up with that money, we will cut off that oxygen supply, no questions asked. You got it?"

Luke simply nodded his head before he threw the door open to walk outside, to the General Lee.

XXXXXXXXXX

Bo Duke had been driving along, happy as a clam. He was on his way to watch a race in Nashville as he hummed along to a Waylon Jennings song on the radio. Things couldn't get any better than this.

That boy's got good taste in music, don't he?

Then it happened. From out of nowhere, two guys came up behind him and without warning, shot out a tire on Daisy's jeep. The jeep spun wildly before going off an embankment. Bo had hit his head and blacked out immediately.

The next thing he remembered was waking up on the floor of an old shack he didn't recognize. He tried to get up but immediately found it impossible as his hands and feet were tied. The guy that had sat watch over him looked familiar. Bo remembered arguing back and forth against his captor. Frustrated at last, the captor got up and gave him a good beating. He lay there wincing in pain, welcoming the sleep that was soon to come.

Later, he had awakened to find the captor had a companion. His questioned his kidnapping, but neither would answer him. This set Bo off to arguing again. In reward, Bo got fresh bruises on top of old ones.

He awoke a third time. This time he was outside. Thank heaven for that anyway. As he blinked his eyes he sat up, his body screaming in protest. He shook his head and looked to the side. There sat ole' ugly again.

"Who are you? Why don't you just let me go you've got no right to keep me like this!" Bo yelled as a bright light flashed in his eyes. He blinked again and looked at one of the guys who had just taken his picture.

Why was he taking pictures? Bo wondered. He didn't want to think about the answer. He had heard too many stories of torture masterminds who liked to keep a visual record of their crimes.

Some dirt hit Bo in the face.

"What was that for?" Bo complained as he shook the dirt away. His eyes then widened in realization as he saw where the dirt had come from- the end of a shovel.

"Get him." Charlie had commanded.

Bo wasn't about to give them a chance. When Horace neared him, he kicked out with both feet, catching the younger brother squarely on his chest. As he fell away, Charlie came toward him. Again, Bo used his feet, managing to trip Charlie up.

Against his body's objection, Bo managed to get to his feet, but as they were tied, he couldn't do anything but hop. As he crouched for the first spring, Charlie reached for his feet, knocking him down. As he fell, a corner of a tombstone clipped his head, bringing darkness to him once again.

As Bo woke up this time, he was in almost complete darkness. Almost, that is, except for a tiny sliver of light that seemed a long way away. He didn't have to touch his battered body to feel every inch of it, he was in so much pain. As he reached to put his hand on his head, he found that he was still tied up. But that wasn't what frightened him most.

As he felt around with his hands and feet as best as he could, it didn't take long for him to realize he was in a box of some sort. A rather cold box that smelled of freshly turned earth.

Bo opened his mouth as he remembered the events before his latest blackout. His breath came in short, rapid succession as he struggled to breath.

"LUUUUUUUUUUKE!" He screamed to no one that could hear.

I don't know about ya'll but if I'd been standin' in that cemetery about then, I'd be high tailin' it outta there.


	3. Chapter 3

Luke began the steady trek home, holding his aching head. He couldn't tell Uncle Jesse and Daisy what had happened yet, not when he didn't know where the bug was. Besides, Jesse was getting too old to fret over stuff like this. Luke was sure to get threatened with the switch for not telling him once Jesse did find out, but he would face that later.

Luke pulled up to the farm and from what he saw, it seemed that a lecture over being late would be halted, at least temporarily.

"What in the world has Abner got himself into?" Jesse asked the young man who seemed anxious and out of breath.

"Uncle Jesse, pa's done it this time. He's really done it!"

"Done what, Chris?"

"He's done went and made the biggest batch of moonshine I ever did see. The worst part of it is, the feds got wind of it."

Jesse looked shocked. "Where is he now?"

"Back…" Chris drew a breath as he labored to breathe. "….back at the house doing his best imitation of an innocent smile. When I heard the feds were on the way I loaded up all the jugs in the back of ole' Bernice here." Chris continued, slapping the trunk of his car a couple of times." ….and just took off. Uncle Jesse, I came home to visit from school just this morning, and run in to all this. Talk about your welcome back party."

Uncle Jesse snarled. "Abner promised he was gonna quit makin' that stuff."

"I know, but with all them school bills comin' in, it seems Pa didn't think he had a choice. He did it all for me. That's why I gotta stop them revenuers from findin' this shine."

"Well why don't ya just find ye a side road somewhere and bust 'em all?"

"Pa'd kill me if I did that! He says that he's got buyers already lined up. I know it's a lot to ask, but do you think I could stash 'em here for awhile? Least till the feds leave?"

"Are you outta your mind? I know that you know Bo 'n Luke are on probation for transportin' that stuff. Now I've got a little here, left over from my last batch, but if the feds find that amount on my property, they'll think I made a new batch and my boys'll go to jail."

"I'm sorry, Jesse. I just thought maybe you could work somethin' out for us."

Jesse put his hand on Chris's shoulder. "I feel for you 'n your pa, boy. Nobody knows better than us Dukes what it's like to scrape for money ta make ends me, and you're both friends. Good friends. But this ain't somthin' I can help you with."

"You know anywhere where I could hide it?" Chris asked.

Jesse thought for a minute. "See if you'n get it up to the old Choctaw Indian Caves. Then lay low for awhile. Once the feds sweep your pa's place, there won't be much more that they can do, and they'll clear out. You got somewhere you can go?"

Chris thought for a minute. "I know just the place."

"Good."

The three of them heard sirens in the distance. Chris jumped back into his car. "Thanks for the advice, Uncle Jesse!" He called out, tearing out of the Duke driveway and out of sight before the feds arrived on the scene. They bypassed the Duke place and continued on in the direction in which Chris had just went.

"That boy's in a whole mess of trouble. When you think about what he's goin' through, it kinda makes you feel better about your own problems, don't it?"

'That's debatable.' Luke thought, but he replied with "Um, I guess so."

Uncle Jesse gave his nephew a playful slap on the head, right where Luke had been hit. Luke almost gave him that instinctive spontaneous hit in return, but managed to control it. "Whatta ya mean ya guess so? Plowin' a field beats runnin' from the feds any day, even if you are doin' it by yourself."

"Jesse…." Luke began.

"Yes?" Uncle Jesse replied.

Luke paused for a few moments. He never did that, Uncle Jesse knew, unless something he didn't want to hear followed.

"I don't think I'm gonna be able to plow today."

Jesse smiled at what seemed to be a cop out, but then noticed something.

"Ya feelin' alright? You look a little pale."

"I'm okay. It's just...somthin's come up, and I've got to go run an errand."

"Oh." Jesse nodded his head. "What kind of errand?"

"I….I can't tell you."

That did not sit well with Jesse at all. "Whaddaya mean you can't tell me? You stand there lookin' like you could fall over at any minute, like you lost your best friend, and all you can say is you've got an errand to run?"

"You deserve better than that, Jesse, I know, but I wouldn't put off the plantin' unless something real important come up. And it has." He looked at his Uncle. "Can you trust me enough to let me go do what I have to do without asking any questions?"

Uncle Jesse's worry showed on his face, but it was nothing compared to the worry that would be visible had he known what was going on with Bo.

"Alright, Luke. I can do that." Jesse nodded, patting him on the shoulder. "How long you think you'll be?"

"I'm not sure, but if I don't come home tonight, don't worry. I'll try to give you a holler on the C.B."

"Well, if that's all I can get, I'll certainly take it." Jesse nodded, trying to offer Luke a smile.

Luke grabbed his Uncle into a hug. Jesse squeezed his nephew tight, wishing he knew what was going on. They then ended the embrace and Luke got into the General Lee, headed for town.

As Jesse watched the car fade from sight, he looked up into the heavens. "Be with him, Lord."

_I hope the Lord will be with Bo too, uh, instead of vice-versa._


	4. Chapter 4

As Luke drove away from the farm, he looked in the rearview mirror of the General Lee. There stood Jesse, staring after him. Luke didn't need a picture perfect view of his face to know that he was worried. Luke could physically feel the weight of the double heavy burden on his shoulders, first for Bo, then for Jesse. At least Jesse couldn't get out follow him, which was a relief. Luke himself had the General, Daisy had the pickup with her at the Boar's nest, and only God knew where Dixie was as Bo had borrowed it to go to Nashville.

Luke knew he had to come up with that money, and fast. He brainstormed for ideas. He figured going to the bank wasn't much of an option. Even if the Dukes had something to put up for collateral, Boss's hatred of the family would cause him to turn the loan down. Cooter had a little money, Luke knew, from when they paid him back for helping to cover a hospital bill for Jesse. Still, Cooter's savings would only skim the surface of what Luke would need to collect. And Luke knew that although Frothy Brewing Company had benefited greatly from the help of the Dukes in the past, they would flat out refuse to lend any money. They had found that out from Jesse's hospital stay as well.

Luke suddenly thought of an idea. An idea he hated, but maybe it would work. He sighed a heavy sigh, puffing out his cheeks with the escaping air. He needed to get to a phone. Since he was nearing town, he decided to use the one at Cooter's garage.

Pulling up to the garage, he looked across Hazzard Square and spotted Rosco and Enos, writing parking tickets. How he wished he could rush up to them and explain the situation before demanding they search ever cemetery within a 50 mile radius. But he remembered what Charlie had said about the bug. Luke was smart enough to know that there may not even be a bug, but he was also smart enough to know that there could be bugs anywhere the Dukes normally occupied- including the patrol cars. Knowing that there was no way Bo could possibly rescue himself this time, he decided it would be best to follow Charlie's instructions and keep quiet.

Luke climbed out of the window and walked up to Cooter's office door. A piece of notebook paper had been torn haphazardly out of a notebook and hung on a rusty nail that had protruded from the door for years for just that purpose. 'Out to Lunch' Cooter had scribbled hurriedly with a black marker.

Luke fished the key from the old spare tire that was propped up against the door. Unlocking it, he walked in and out the next door into the garage area where the dusty black rotary phone stood waiting.

"Mabel. Get me the Speedway up in Nashville." Luke requested.

After going through several people on the phone, Luke was finally connected with Billy Kay, Bo's favorite race car driver in the world, the very one who had invited Bo to be his special guest at the race that weekend.

"Mr. Kay, this is Luke Duke." Luke began.

"Luke! What a coincidence. I was just about to call your farm. The race ended up here about a half-hour ago and I haven't seen hide nor hair of Bo the whole day. I know he was real excited about coming, thought he might of got sick or something."

Luke shuddered a little at the thought of Billy Kay having reached Uncle Jesse, glad that he made the phone call when he did.

"As a matter of fact, Bo did get sick, Mr. Kay. That's why he didn't come."

"Oh my, Luke. I hope it's nothing serious."

"Oh no no, nothing like that. He should be back on his feet in no time."

"Well I'm glad you let me know, Luke. Maybe he can make it next time."

"Actually, that's not the only reason I called." Luke continued.

"Oh?" Billy Kay asked.

"No. Well you see, I…..that is me 'n Bo. We was wondering' if you might still be interested in buying the General Lee from us."

Billy laughed. "Luke, I don't know what to say. I can see for myself you boys love that car. What made ya change your mind?"

"Well…." Luke began, thinking madly. "It's just that our Uncle Jesse needs some supplies to run the farm this year, you know, a new tractor and such. And if we don't get them we can't work and then we'll lose the house and everything." He sighed, hoping that sounded convincing. "I guess sometimes you just have to do what you have to do."

Luke held his breath for the few moments that Billy Kay sat silent on the line. Finally he spoke.

"Luke, I'd take that car in a heartbeat- if you and your cousin hadn't grown on me. But cha have. Your whole family has. You're part of one of the most down to earth, sincere, neighborly families I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. And for that reason, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to turn you down."

"Oh." Luke simply replied, unable to remove the disappointment from his voice. "I understand, Mr. Kay."

Billy laughed. "No, you don't understand everything, Luke. Now I said I couldn't take your car, but that don't mean I can't put up some money for you, if you need it."

Luke immediately brightened. "You could, Mr. Kay? Oh that would be fantastic!" He replied. Normally, Luke would turn down such an offer. He hated to take money like that from anybody without putting something up, even if he did intend to pay it back. But considering the current circumstance, he was agreeable with any offer.

"I sure could." Billy Kay confirmed. "I trust you enough to pay me back, when you can. All I ask is that you run another race for me in the near future, in the General Lee, of course."

"Yes sir!" Luke exclaimed. This was so much simpler than he ever could have hoped for. Somebody had to be praying for him.

"Good. Now just give me the phone number over at that bank of yours and I'll wire you the $25000.00 in a couple of hours."

"Twenty-five thousand?" Luke asked, his smile disappearing.

"Why yes, Luke. That was the amount I had originally offered on the General Lee. Why, how much did you need?"

Luke swallowed a bit before he replied. "Fifty thousand."

Billy could not help but let out a small laugh. "Luke, I don't know a lot about farming but I do know the price of a tractor, and twenty five thousand dollars should be more than enough to cover that and anything else you would need to buy. Is there something going on you're not telling me about?"

Luke remembered the bug, and was careful of what he said. "Uh, no Billy. It's just that the house's needin' a new roof and stuff too, and we were gonna try to tackle all that this summer, if web's able."

"Oh, I understand." Billy confirmed. "But Luke, all I can let go of for now is the twenty-five thousand dollars. Even old NASCAR racers have to draw the line somewhere."

"I understand, Billy. You've made us a very nice offer, one that I really appreciate. I'll still accept it, if you're willing."

"I am. Now you get that little operator you have there in Hazzard to transfer me over to your bank and I'll set things up for you."

"Thanks again, Billy. Mabel, I know you're there. Send Mr. Kay over to Boss Hogg's bank."

After Luke had confirmed that Mabel had made the transfer, he was hanging up when he heard something that made him jump out of his skin.

"What in the world is goin' on?"

Startled, Luke turned around, accidentally knocking the phone and some tools to the floor.

There stood Cooter with a very questioning look on his face.

"Hey Cooter. You scared me. Don't worry I'll pick this up." Luke announced, bending over to pick up the tools and the phone.

"I scared you? I just left a worried old man sittin' at his kitchen table in a certain farmhouse, fretting about his dark haired nephew, and then I come back to work to find that nephew on the phone needin' $50000.00. That's pretty scary to me."

Luke sighed. "Look Cooter, I'd appreciate it if you didn't say anything to Jesse about that. And I'm not able to explain things, so please don't ask me to."

Cooter couldn't help but notice a great deal of worry on Luke's face. If he and Jesse had a worry contest, he couldn't guess who would win.

Luke now noticed Cooter's worried expression as well. He put a hand on the mechanic's shoulder. "I'm sorry. Um, I gotta go now, okay?"

Cooter simply nodded as Luke raced over to the bank. Luke closed the door behind him and went up to Iola's desk.

"Hey Iola. Boss Hogg around?"

"You're in luck. He's in his office in the back, takin' inventory."

"Takin' inventory?" Luke couldn't help but ask.

"Go see for yourself." Iola replied, nodding toward his office as the phone rang.

Luke walked back to Boss's office and opened the door. He found Boss there with several stacks of cash mounted up on his desk, stacks he could barely see over.

"……78, 79. " Boss counted as Luke opened the door. Boss immediately stopped counting and gasped before he let out a sigh. "Oh, It's only you." He snarled before he began counting again. While he wasn't fond of the Dukes, he knew they would never steal from him.

"Boss, I gotta ask you somethin'." Luke announced, putting his hands on the desk and leaning forward slightly. In doing so, he accidentally knocked over several stacks of bills."

"Aaaah!" Boss yelled, watching as some of the bills fluttered to the floor like a flock of butterflies. "You numb skull, look what you did!"

"I'm sorry Boss!" Luke said, rushing over to help Boss pick up the money.

"Hands off!" Boss demanded, slapping Luke's hand away. "You've done enough! I've been countin' all mornin' and now I'm gonna have to start all over!"

"Like I said, I'm really sorry!"

"I know ya are. The lot of ya Dukes are, sorry as they come!" Boss announced, shaking his head during the rant, causing his jaws to jiggle. "What are you doin' here anyway?"

"Well, Boss. I came to ask for a loan." Luke announced, hoping he could talk Boss into letting him borrow the remaining balance of the demand.

"Hmmm. Let me think." Boss began looking up toward the ceiling for a second before he replied with an abrupt "No!"

"But Boss….."

"N…O…NO!" Boss exclaimed.

"Come on, Boss. If you can give me a loan I'll make up for my little mishap here. I'll even help you with your counting."

"Don't you lay one grubby little paw on any of this money, Luke Duke. And you get out of my sight right now. Get out before I have Rosco come over here and arrest you."

"For what?" Luke demanded.

"I don't know….trespassing!"

"Boss….."

"Git!" Boss commanded.

Luke had no choice but to leave.

_Well, Luke's halfway there, but it's sorta like saying your halfway there in an airplane—and it's run out of fuel._


	5. Chapter 5

After a period of panic, Bo Duke had calmed down, taking deep breaths.

'Get yourself together.' He mentally commanded himself, although that was a whole lot easier said than done. As he lay with eyes closed, he remembered the light he had seen. That light had to be there for a reason. Bo dared open his eyes and looked again, hoping it hadn't been a figment of his imagination. Sure enough, it was still there. Fortunately, Charlie and Horace had tied his hands in front, which allowed him to put his fingers up to the light. When he did, he felt a tube of some sort, and a slightly damp mist oozing out.

'Oxygen'. Bo whispered. It had to be. He realized that the time he had been awake was more than enough to deplete any remaining oxygen levels in the coffin, even if he didn't figure in the mysterious amount of time he had spent knocked out. Bo took another deep breath. The scene was eerily like a horror flick he had seen years back, when he and Luke used to ditch school to go watch those cheesy horror flicks at the Capitol City Triple. Apparently, Horace and Charlie had seen the same movie.

Bo felt around to the side of his belt. He wasn't altogether surprised to find his knife still in place. Anything on his person left out of the grave would have been evidence of the foul play, he knew. Hanging around with his genius of an older cousin did rub off on him from time to time.

Bo managed to flick the blade open with one hand and saw at the ropes with his other. After a short while, he had success. While he couldn't do anything with his hands to free himself, it at least made him feel a little better. He took the opportunity to peel his shirt off, although in the cramped space it took some time and was rather difficult. But off it came at last. He used the material to blot the sweat from his skin. Even at six feet under, it was getting incredibly hot in there.

XXXXXX

Luke figured Boss may be in a better frame of mind when he didn't have cash to concentrate on. He had to go back to him and see if he could talk him into that loan. It was Bo's only hope.

"Iola?" Luke asked, approaching Boss's secretary again. "How long is Boss gonna be uh 'takin' inventory'?"

"Gosh Luke. It's hard to say. He just started this mornin'. These things usually last him three or four days."

Luke definitely didn't have that kind of time to play with. He decided it was now or never with Boss. He walked back to his office and opened the door again.

"Luke Duke, I thought I told you to get out of here!" Boss commanded.

"I know Boss, but if you will just hear me out……."

"The only thing I want to HEAR is your boots walkin' OUT of this office." Boss huffed.

Luke was persistent. "Boss, we got family problems. Real bad family problems. I need a loan, and I need it this evening."

"Well." Boss replied, puffing on his cigar. "If you're in such dire straits, why ain't Jesse Duke out here beggin' for this loan?"

"Jesse don't know I'm here." Luke admitted.

"Humph. Well if Jesse ain't here then it ain't no emergency! 'Sides, what would you have worth puttin' up?"

"But Boss…." Luke said, almost telling him that Bo was in trouble before catching himself. He simply pounded the desk in frustration.

"What are you doin'? Threatenin' me, or trying to destroy my personal property?" Boss asked, suddenly taken aback, but trying not to show it. Luke simply responded by putting up his hands and shaking his head.

"You high tail it outta here, Luke Duke. If you step one foot back into my office this evening, I'll have you thrown in jail, and I mean it this time!"

Luke beat a hasty retreat before Boss changed his mind. He would be no help to Bo at allbehind bars.

Once outside, he sat on the steps and pondered for a long time. The only one that seemed to notice was a curious mechanic across the street that was dying to call the Duke farm but had promised not to.

Finally after awhile, Luke's face brightened but at the same time had a look of dread. He had an idea. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but the situation was desperate. He ran down the steps to the General and picked up the C.B. "Lost Sheep callin' Shepherd."

"This here's Shepherd." Uncle Jesse replied a moment later, his wide grin obvious in his voice. "Uh, everything alright, Luke?"

"No need to worry. I'm gonna be home tonight and was wonderin' if you needed anything from the store."

"Well that's certainly good to know!" Jesse beamed. "As a matter of fact I do. Get me some flour so's I can make some chicken and dumplin's." He laughed a bit. "Just wait till Bo gets back from Nashville and finds out we had his favorite dish while he was away!"

Luke didn't reply but thought that in the best of conditions, Bo was probably starving by now.

"Ten-four shepherd." Luke replied, setting the C. B. down. He then ran into the store.

XXXXXX

Actually Bo's stomach _was_ growling with hunger about that time, but Bo didn't realize it. He was concentrating on how hot he was.

Some of that was from the simple fact that it was warm in there anyway, but mostly it was from the energy he had exerted from yelling for help over and over again through the pipe that delivered the oxygen.

The more overheated Bo got, the more he began to panic again, which started a chain reaction. Finally, drenched in sweat, suffocating from the heat, and exhausted, his eyes closed in unconsciousness once again.

_Ya know, I didn't think it could get that hot underground, but I'll take it as I see it. 'Cause the only way to tell for sure would be to put myself in that position. And friends, there ain't no way I'm goin' that far_.


	6. Chapter 6

"Well I'm glad ta see you decided to come back home." Jesse sang as Luke came into the kitchen, handing him the sack of flour he had picked up. "Did ya get yer affairs in order?"

Luke looked at his uncle's smiling face, hating that he was going to disappoint him again. "Not exactly Uncle Jesse. Looks like I'm going to have to spend a couple of days out of town. I just came home to get a little sleep and pack up a few things I'm gonna need."

"Oh." Jesse replied, trying to smile as he poured the flour into a bowl and mixed it with the other ingredients to form a stiff batter.

Luke knew what Jesse was thinking. "I'm alright, Uncle Jesse. In a couple of days maybe this'll be all over. Just hang in with me till then."

Jesse continued to stir as he looked at his nephew. "I just want you to know if yer ready to talk about it, I'm here."

Luke patted Jesse on the shoulder reassuringly. "I appreciate that, Jesse. I'm gonna go get my stuff together, if that's alright with you."

Jesse simply nodded in response as he watched his nephew trudge toward his bedroom. The mood Luke was in was eerily familiar. They happened quite frequently after he had returned home from the Marines. That had to be it, Jesse concluded, Luke was reminiscing about his time in the marines. But surely Luke knew he could talk to him. He was a veteran himself.

After a while, Jesse, Luke, and Daisy were seated around the table, saying grace.

"This sure does look good, Uncle Jesse!" Daisy exclaimed, helping herself to a mouthful of dumplings.

"That it does!" Jesse agreed. "Can you imagine the fit Bo'd be havin' right now if he knew what we's eating?"

"A rather big fit, I'd say!" Daisy laughed. "He's probably still stuck at that race track with nothing but a bag of popcorn or a cheap hotdog for supper!"

"Yer probably right. That's another thing I don't like about them races. Nothin' to eat but junk food. 'least it's his last day there. We'll get a good meal in him tomorrow."

Jesse and Daisy paused to eat a bit before Daisy looked at Luke. "Somethin' the matter, Luke? You haven't touched a bite."

"Huh?' Luke replied, coming out of the haze of his thoughts. "Oh, sorry. Just not hungry I guess."

It wasn't like Luke to skip a meal. "See I told ya you looked a little peaked this afternoon." Jesse confirmed.

"I ain't sick Jesse, not physically anyway." Luke said, immediately sorry that he had added the last bit.

"Uh huh." Jesse simply replied. "Listen here, Luke. You're a grown man, and ya gotta right to do what you think is best. But I wish ya would talk to me. Don't do no good to keep anything bottled up inside."

Luke sat with his head down, willing himself not to look at Jesse, because if he did he was afraid he might reveal everything. With the bug still unaccounted for, to mention the situation would be to jeopardize Bo's life. And Luke knew that the burden he carried on his young shoulders was a very heavy one, one that might be too much to lay on Jesse.

"All I can tell ya'll…." Luke began, upset apparent in his voice, "……is that I love you both very much. I do have a problem, but it's nothing I can't take care of for myself. There are some things…………" Luke paused to take a deep breath. "…….some things that might happen within the next couple of days that you won't understand. But in the end, it'll all make sense to you. I can guarantee you that."

Uncle Jesse looked at Luke in shock. After a few moments, he turned to Daisy. "Um Daisy, why don't you take your plate to your room, finish up your dumplin's in there. I know you been dying to start on that new Alice Tritwell novel."

Daisy wasn't dumb. She knew that Jesse wanted to talk to Luke alone. "You're right Uncle Jesse. I believe I'll do that."

After Daisy had cleared the room, Jesse turned to Luke again. "Luke, I still don't know what's goin' on with ya, but I have to admit, yer startin' to scare me. That little speech you gave, it almost sounded like, well………" Jesse abruptly stopped talking, unsure if he should continue.

"Well what, Jesse?" Luke asked.

Jesse arched his eyebrows. "Well, it sounded ta me like maybe you's thinkin' about, maybe….I dunno…..hurtin' yourself."

"Hurtin' myself?" Luke shook his head. "If you're sayin' you scared I might commit suicide, don't be. It ain't nothin' like that."

Jesse wished he knew that for certain. "Well, yer actin' just like you used to when you returned from the service. I know what 'che saw out there when you's fightin'. I know because I saw the same thing back in my day. You get these awful images in yer head and they don't never leave ya. Never. After some time you can stow 'em away in the back of yer mind and they'll stay put there for a long time. Then one day for no apparent reason they come rushin' forward again, those images of your best friends layin' next to ya dead. And it plays with yer emotions, makes ya think about doin' crazy stuff." Jesse looked at Luke. "Just tell me one more time you ain't gonna do nothin' crazy and I'll leave ya alone."

Luke didn't have the energy to convince his Uncle that he had been thinking neither about war or suicide. "I promise I'm not even thinking about suicide, Jesse." Luke replied, purposely omitting the part about not doing anything crazy. Because what he had in mind would fit into that category just fine.

Jesse smiled and looked at his nephew. "That does make me feel better. Just don't worry me and get me too scared, 'cause if ya do, I might hafta call Bo home early. He seems to be the only one that can straighten' yah out sometimes."

"No, Uncle Jesse!" Luke exclaimed, almost jumping out of his seat.

Jesse was a bit taken aback. "What in tarnation got into ya? All I said was I might call Bo."

Luke mentally forced himself to calm down as he sat again. "I know, I just….don't want him to have to come home early on accounta you're worried about me. He's looked forward to spendin' some buddy time with Billy Kay for a long time."

"Oh." Uncle Jesse replied simply, accepting the explanation. He then looked around the table and sighed. "Well, I need to git out to the barn and feed Maudine. Make me feel good and finish up them vittles before ya do any packin', ya hear?"

"I will, Uncle Jesse." Luke assured him as Jesse rose from the table and went to the nail where his trusty red hat hung. He turned to make sure Luke was eating. Satisfied to see that he was, he put the hat on his head and went out the door.

It wasn't long after Jesse had put some water in Maudine's trough and filled her bin with hay that he heard the screen door to the house slam shut. He went around the corner and looked as Luke was closing the trunk of the General Lee.

"Finish ye dumplin's?" Jesse called out.

"Yes sir!" Luke shouted back as he jogged over to the barn.

"What'd you put in the trunk?"

"Just the stuff I need for my trip, Jesse."

"You packed in a big hurry. You ain't plannin' on leavin' tonite, are ya?"

"I know I said I was gonna sleep, but I really gotta get on the road." Luke looked down. "I'm sorry I can't explain it better."

"I reckon ya got yer reasons." Jesse nodded.

"Just don't forget what I told ya, Jesse."

"What's that, Luke?"

"That I love ya. I love ya a lot. And I'm sorry."

Jesse frowned. "Sorry for what?"

"For anything I do that might disappoint you."

Without waiting for his reaction, Luke raced to the General and jumped in, racing for town and leaving a confused old man behind. "What could you do that would disappoint me, Luke?" He said out loud, although there was no one to hear but Maudine.

Sadly, Jesse would get his answer a couple of hours later, when Cooter came to his house and opened the door.

"Uncle Jesse! Uncle Jesse!" Cooter yelled, not knowing as he stood just on the side of the door that separated the living room and kitchen that Jesse was just out of sight around the corner.

Jesse stood in front of him, a finger trying to soothe one of his ringing ears. "What in tarnation are ya tryin' to do Cooter? Render me deaf?" He asked as Daisy walked up behind her uncle.

"I'm sorry Uncle Jesse, but ya gotta come quick. It's Luke!"

"Luke? Whatsa matter with him?" Jesse asked as Daisy put her hand over her heart.

"I……"Cooter began, not sure he had the bravery to continue now that he had his audience.

"Well what? Out with it!"

"I saw him in town, and he had a gun. Jesse…………..from what I saw…….. I think Luke is planning to rob Boss Hoggs bank!"

Jesse quickly jerked his head up to look at the gun rack that was over the door.

It was empty.

_Friends and neighbors, I sure didn't see that one comin', did you?_


	7. Chapter 7

Jesse shot Daisy a quick look before he rushed to the door that led out of the kitchen. Daisy knew that the look meant that she was driving. She grabbed the keys off the nail beside the door and went outside to find Jesse already settled in the passenger seat of his pickup.

As Daisy climbed in to drive, Cooter opened the door of his tow truck and prepared to get in to follow them.

"Git over her, Cooter!" Jesse yelled as Cooter closed the door of his truck and rushed over. Jesse moved over to the middle. "Git in! Whaddaya think yer doin'? Ya think you can tear into the house and say Luke's robbin' the bank and walk out without sayin' another word? I want details!"

As Daisy burned a trail down the road to town, Cooter told them what he had seen. "Uncle Jesse, I can't promise that's what he was doing, but from what I saw, it sure looked that way."

"Well what did you see?"

"Well, I saw Luke pull up next to the bank. As he was getting out, I saw him move a rifle from the front seat to the back seat. And then….." Cooter's voice trailed off.

"And then what?" Daisy asked.

"And then he picked up a black ski mask. He looked around the square to see if anyone noticed him, then he tried it on. After a couple of seconds, he pulled it off and threw it in the front seat again."

"Well what did he do after that?" Jesse asked.

"Well the reason he pulled it off so quick was because Russell and Brent McCamey pulled up just about then. Luke went up and started talking to them. That's when I tried to call you on the C.B."

Jesse thought for a few moments and rolled his eyes. "I thought the Hazzard net had been a little quiet this evening. I bet that dang wire came loose on the C.B. at the house again!"

"Cooter, we're glad you came to get us, but why did you do that instead of just trying to stop Luke?" Daisy asked.

"Well Daisy, what would I have done? Walked up to Luke while he was talking to the McCameys and say 'Excuse me Lukas, but I's just wonderin' if you's planning to rob Boss Hogg?' Besides, It just doesn't seem like Luke. I can't imagine him taking a dime from anyone, let alone thousands of dollars."

Daisy shook her head. "I'm going to question Luke. Don't doubt that, but I just can't believe this. None of it seems real to me. Why would he do that, Cooter? Uncle Jesse, you know Luke, he'd sell the General Lee before he'd take money that wasn't his."

"That he would, but he's been actin' awful strange today. You noticed that, Cooter?"

Uncle Jesse's question was answered with dead silence, he looked back at the mechanic who sat with a dazed look of shock.

"Cooter!"

"He did." Cooter simply replied.

"He did what?"

"He did try to sell the General."

"What!"

Cooter paused before replying. "He was over at the garage using the phone when I came back from lunch today. He didn't hear me come in, but I heard him asking Billy Kay if he was still interested in buying the General!"

Why didn't you say nothing to us?"

"'Cause he asked me not to." Cooter confessed.

Jesse started to reply when all of a sudden Daisy jerked the jeep to the right to avoid being hit by another car! Although the occupants of the truck were holding on for dear life and could not make out the features of the car that had just zoomed by them at the curve, the bright orange paint left no doubt as to who it was.

As Daisy pressed on the brake and swerved to a stop, a frightening sound met their ears.

It was the sound of the General as it rolled down the embankment a couple of times before coming to a rest upside down. The high speed around the curve was too much to keep it in the road.

"LUKE!" Jesse exclaimed, reaching down to unlatch his seatbelt. He was joined by Daisy and Cooter as they prepared to climb down the embankment to the wreck.

As they began their decent they looked to the General. Out of the windows climbed Russell and Brent McCamey. Russell paused and gave Jesse a curious look before he and Brent sprinted deep into the woods.

"LUKE!" Daisy yelled this time as they neared the General, not worried at that time about the reason why the McCameys were in her cousins' car.

When they reached the General, Jesse, despite his age, swiftly lay on the ground and stuck his head into the window, looking for his nephew.

"How is he, Uncle Jesse?" Cooter asked.

Jesse stood up again. "He ain't in there!"

"Oh, thank heaven for that." Daisy replied, hugging her uncle as the sirens in the distance slowly drew closer.

Moments later, Enos screeched to a stop beside the pickup. He jumped out of his patrol car, gun drawn, and raced down to the group.

"Possum on a gumbush!" Enos exclaimed. "I'll call an ambulance."

"Ain't no need to Enos. Their ain't nobody in there!" Cooter announced.

"Oh." Enos replied, relaxing a bit. "How'd you all know about this?"

"Know about what, Enos? We's just drivin' along when we near got pushed off the road. Nobody was more surprised than us to learn it was the General that was doin' the pushin'." Jesse explained.

"Did you see who was driving?" Enos asked.

Daisy began to speak up when she was quieted by her uncle. The fact that the General had been driven by the McCamey's shortly after Luke's conversation with them left questions that needed to be answered by Luke. "No we didn't see anybody. We thought it might have been Luke, but when we came down to check on him there wasn't anyone to be found."

"Well I know it wasn't Luke, Uncle Jesse, because I left him back in town. You see, Boss Hogg's bank just got robbed and it looks like the robbers stole the General Lee for their getaway." Enos announced before his face lit up in realization. "Why am I standing around talking? Those robbers have to be on foot somewhere. I gotta go after them!"

Without saying anything else, Enos took a quick look around to decide on the best route to search. Then he took off into the woods, on the exact same path the McCameys had taken as new sirens in the distance signaled that Rosco and Cletus were on the way.

"Come on, let's git to town, see if we can find Luke, and figure out what's goin' on." Jesse announced as he led the way back to the pickup.

XXXXXX

It had been late afternoon in Hazzard Square. Most of the stores were closed up and almost everyone was back home attending to chores. However the normal silence was broken by an alarm and screeching tires.

"I've been robbed, I've been robbed!" Boss Hogg yelled as he ran down the street from his house to the bank, where the alarm was ringing. "And it was them dang Duke boys, Bo and Luke! It had to be! They just tore outta here in the General Lee!"

The alarm had also commanded the attention of Enos, who rushed out of the police station. "Don't worry, Mr. Hogg, I'll get 'em!" He announced as he started to enter his patrol car.

"Enos!" Luke shouted, running up from the direction of the post office and flagging the deputy down.

"Sorry Luke, can't talk now, gotta go after some bank robber- Luke!" Enos yelped in surprise. Luke you're under arrest!"

"For what, Enos? Those guys just stole my car!"

"Stole your car? Now Luke you wouldn't be trying to fool me, would you?"

"Enos, I'm standin' here and Bo's in Nashville. Ask Uncle Jesse if you don't believe me. Now are you gonna ask questions all day or are you gonna get my car back?"

Boss Hogg, who had heard the whole thing, blurted out. "Well why are you sittin' there dipstick? You heard the boy. Whoever stole that clunker car has my money. Go after them!"

"Yes sir!" Enos replied, tearing out after the departing General Lee.

Luke watched as Boss got on the CB and radioed Rosco and Cletus to help as his driver turned out of the parking space to follow Enos.

Satisfied that everyone was gone and seeing that the square was empty once again, except for Miz Tizdale who was busy canceling stamps in the back of the post office, Luke walked over to the alley between the bank and the post office. Off to one side was a pile of boxes, garbage from the diner that was squeezed between the post office and the fabric shop. Digging into the pile, Luke pulled out a box and rushed over to Cooter's garage.

Cooter wasn't around, but everything was unlocked. 'Mustave had to leave in a hurry'. Luke thought as he went inside, away from all the windows. Satisfied that he was hidden at last, he opened the box.

Inside was a ski mask, a discarded sweatshirt, and more cash than he could count.

XXXXXX

'Go check on him Horace, did you check on him Horace? Can't you take care of things Horace'?.

As Horace drove along in the beat up red car, he mocked his brother, Charlie. Something was definitely wrong here. While he was out doing the dirty work-making sure Bo Duke was kept alive, and risking being seen by the authorities- Charlie remained safely hidden at the old farmhouse.

Horace hated being on the run. He hated that he was put in a subservient position by Charlie. And he hated the Dukes.

It had been Bo who gave him the worst beating of his life when he and Luke had caught the brothers after the robbery, and it was their testimony that had landed him in prison. Horace would have been living the high life free and clear, he was certain, had it not been for the Dukes.

Finally, for the third time in a day, Horace turned onto the rough gravel road that circled the cemetery, making his way to Bo's grave. 'At least I don't have much of a chance of getting caught here' he mumbled to himself as he slammed the door and looked around the graveyard that was mostly hidden by a circle of tall Georgia pines.

Making his way to the grave, he realized just how tired he was today and how angry he was at the Dukes. He bent down and moved the flowers to check on the oxygen. Everything looked okay.

"I've told you before, and I'm telling you again. You robbed me, Bo Duke." He began, talking to the plot. "You robbed me of my money, then you robbed me of my freedom. And after I sat in that cell a few months, you robbed me of my sanity."

Horace's lip began to tremble. "And now I've broke out of jail, and you still rob me. Rob me of the freedom to wander around. You even rob me of a chance to rest a day as a free man. All I want is just one puny, pathetic day to rest as a free man, and you can't even give me that!"

Horace began to breath hard. "And what have you Dukes lost in this? What have any of you lost. Nothing. Nothing at all. You took everything away from me and lost nothing in return."

Horace reached down to check the hose that exited the oxygen chamber. "You know what I think about that? You want to know what I really think, Bo Duke?" Horace grinned an evil grin. "I think it's about time you Dukes learned what it is like to lose something. I think…..it's time your family got a taste of your own medicine."

With that, Horace pulled the hose free and tossed it to the side.

_I don't know about ya'll, but unless a big pack of dogs comes along about now and starts huntin' a place to bury their bones, I don't see any chance of Bo getting outta this one._


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as Horace pulled the hose away, he heard a hissing sound. Replacing the flowers, he stood up and looked down at the plot. After a few moments, the hiss died away, leaving only the sounds of the creaking pines as they swayed in the breeze to keep him company.

"Rest in peace, Mr. Duke." Horace took off his hat and bowed to the plot before he made his way back to the red car that had carried him there.

"Honestly, Charlie." Horace said to himself as he replaced his hat and started the engine. "I don't know how such a thing could have happened." He grinned and jammed a lit cigar into his mouth before driving away.

XXXX

The next morning dawned just as perfect as the day before had been. As Luke Duke stretched to life, he felt the warm sun beat upon his face as the sound of chirping birds filled the air. It was only after he opened his eyes and remembered why he was in the backseat of Brent and Russell McCamey's car that he realized why the world looked very bleak despite the outward appearance. How he hated to have napped when Bo was in so much danger, but his body had rejected his commands to stay awake. After almost running off the road a couple of times on the ten mile trip back to Carly's place, Luke had no choice but to rest.

Luke sat up and took a few moments to awaken fully before he continued his mission. As he sat, he thought about the events of the evening before. Shortly before closing, he had returned to the bank to pick up the wire transfer from Billy Kay. On his way out, he had discreetly unbolted the door that led into the alley at the side. Although he had originally considered robbing the bank at gunpoint, he couldn't bring himself to risk frightening poor Iola to death. So it would be a matter of waiting.

Once he had picked up the money that was rightfully his, he went outside, pocketing the wad of fifties, hundreds and thousands before going over to the General and putting Jesse's gun in the backseat. There would be a hefty price to pay if Enos, Cletus, or Rosco came outside and caught him with it, robbery or no robbery.

Next he dug into the bag he had picked up from the store earlier in the day. Gone was Jesse's flour, leaving the only other item he had purchased: a black ski mask.

Luke was just trying it on when the McCamey brothers roared into town. As they screeched to a halt beside him, he jerked it off.

"Hey Luke!" Brent had called out. "How's it goin'?"

"Oh, okay Brent." Luke replied, hiding the ski mask behind his back.

"Little warm for the ski mask, isn't it?"

"Oh….yeah. Well, it was on sale over at the general store today. You know, the winter clearance and all. Thought it'd be good for huntin' at Christmas time."

"Yeah, well it's good to get that stuff on clearance if you can afford it." Brent replied as a new vehicle sped out of town. Russell, Brent, and Luke looked up to see that it was Cooter's tow truck.

"Great, there goes our last money making opportunity for today!" Russell frowned, banging the steering wheel.

"Money making opportunity?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Brent replied. "Mortgage is due tomorrow and we're short $50.00. If we don't have it by noon, well, you know how Boss Hogg is. We's hoping we could help Cooter out next week and collect a little advance on that help today."

Luke grinned. "Boys, I'm about to offer you the easiest $50.00 you ever came by."

"Really?" Brent grinned, his smile disappearing just as suddenly as he held his hands up. "Oh no Luke! I heard Chris Thompkins say he's comin' out to your place today to stash his daddy's shine. Me and Russ here are on probation for transportin' that stuff, too. We ain't gonna move it for no amount of money!"

"Well Chris did ask us to stash it, but we didn't let him. No, what I want you to do is take the General on a spin for me."

Brent almost laughed. "You want to pay us $50.00 and all we have to do is drive your car? Why?"

"Well, it gets a bit more complicated than that. Number one: You don't drive away until I tell you. Number two: If Rosco, Enos or Cletus comes along, lose 'em. Number three: Don't let anybody see who you are. Number four: Don't ask any questions. And finally number five: Don't answer any questions!"

For a couple of poor boys from the country who were looking to make some easy money, those were easy rules to follow. "Sure thing, Luke." Brent replied, plucking the fifty out of Luke's hand.

And that's how it had happened. Luke had waited until the bank closed and Iola and Boss had gone home. Then he simply opened the side door. He had forgotten an important thing, though. An alarm was set up on that door as well. As the alarm began to ring, he ran to Boss's office to hastily bust out the frosted window to unlock the door. Because Boss had been in the middle of 'inventory' and with an alarm and locked doors offering him security, he had left the cash he was counting on the desk. Luke spent only a few precious seconds sweeping the piles into the restaurant box he had picked up before dashing outside once again, where he quickly discarded the mask and old sweatshirt he had found into the box before sneaking around the corner to give Brent the signal to floor it out of there in the General. Once a few seconds had creped by, enough time for Enos and Boss to arrive on the scene, Luke ran out and told Enos that the General had been stolen. It was convincing enough to get everyone on the General's trail, allowing Luke time to collect the money and stash the clothes as Cooter's before driving out of town in the McCamey's car.

Luke reached down into the backseat floorboard to pick up the box of money. He plucked the money from his pocket that Billy Kay had wired and added it to the box. It looked like more than Charlie and Horace had asked for, really, but Luke didn't care. If they got extra, maybe that would mean they would take Luke straight to Bo. That's what he hoped anyway.

As Luke climbed into the front seat and began to drive once again to Carly's farm, he thought about Bo. He and Bo were so close, they could almost feel what the other felt, even when they weren't together. Luke had spent the previous day anxious and afraid the whole time. He sensed that it was not only because it was his own feelings, but because they were Bo's as well. But something was different today, something strangely different. Although Luke still felt nervous and afraid for himself, he somehow felt Bo was calm……..relieved…….maybe even happy. But how? How could that possibly be?

XXX

"Well well well, who says you can't find good help these days?" Charlie sneered as Luke walked in with the box of cash. He placed it on the table in front of Charlie as Horace stood to the side, gun in hand.

"Excellent strategy, by the way." Charlie continued as he began to sort the money. "Having those boys drive away in your car like that, telling the police it had been stolen." Charlie laughed. "If you wasn't so ugly and I didn't hate you so much, I'd almost be tempted to make you part of our little gang here."

Luke wondered how he knew about all that but then remembered that the bug still hadn't been located. "Look, you got your money now tell me where my cousin is before he suffocates to death."

"Hold on now, hayseed. You did a good job for us, now surely we can afford a little extra oxygen whilst we take the time to count this money here. Horace, go grab our friend a beer, looks like his nerves are about shot."

"The only thing that's gonna calm my nerves is getting my cousin back safe and sound."

Horace laughed a knowing laugh in the corner but otherwise kept his mouth shut.

After two hours, Charlie finally completed the counting. "Well congratulations, hayseed……you're almost there."

"What?" Luke asked in a neutral tone.

"You've almost got enough money. You're just shy of three thousand dollars short."

"Three thousand dollars?" Luke asked.

"Oh don't worry, you still have one day to collect it."

"I don't believe it!" Luke slapped the table and stood up quickly. Both Charlie and Horace pulled guns on him, so he visibly relaxed his muscles. "You have fourty-seven thousand dollars, free and clear, and you're not going to let him go?"

"So sorry. Maybe you didn't understand. The deal was for fifty thousand dollars."

Luke started to speak when the gun coming up in front of his face quietened him. "You can argue all day, but we're not going to change our mind. Three thousand, plowboy. You've got twenty-four hours."

XXXX

"Uncle Jesse, we've been looking for him all morning, will you please eat something?"

"No Daisy." Jesse replied, pacing back and fourth in the kitchen. "I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't do nothin' with myself till I find that boy and beat the truth outta him."

"Well Jesse, I don't know what's going on with Luke but we can't be sure he robbed that bank. Iola verified that he was there picking up some money from Billy Kay yesterday afternoon. I don't see what need he would have for more money."

"Yeah, but he's gone and he's somehow managed to get the McCamey boys to keep their traps shut, so I don't know what to think anymore!"

"Well Uncle Jesse." Cooter began. "I hate to even suggest it, but maybe it's time to call Bo, see if he's left Nashville yet. If anybody can get to the bottom of things as far as Luke's concerned, it'd be Bo."

"Yer right." Jesse replied. As he was going over to the phone, it rang. Jesse frowned.

"How do ya like that? We might use the phone once every two days and it rings right when ya……" He ended by picking up the receiver. "Who is it and whaddaya want?"

"Daisy…….Miss Daisy Duke. Please." The female voice said.

"She ain't here." Jesse replied, assuming it was a telemarketer.

"Is this her husband?" The lady asked.

"No this is her Uncle, and I ain't got time to talk. I've got to…."

"Please sir." The lady interrupted. "This is rather important."

"Well get on with what you think is important because I got matters to attend to that are." Jesse commanded, waiting for a sales pitch.

"Sir, my name is Carolie Simms with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Does Ms. Duke drive a white Jeep with the word 'Dixie' inscribed on the sides?"

Jesse frowned. "Why yes ma'am. What of it?"

"Sir, your niece's vehicle has been discovered down an embankment of a rather secluded side road just south of the city of Monteagle, Tennessee. And…." She added. "It looks as if it's been there a couple of days."

"Bo." Jesse whispered as Daisy and Cooter came to the phone. "How's my nephew, is he okay?"

"Well that's a curiosity, sir. You see, no one was in the car."

Ya know, I feel sorry for ole' Jesse. I bet if given a choice, he'd rather be bailin' them boys outta jail on some bogus charge rather than tryin' to figure this mess out.


	9. Chapter 9

"What do you think happened to him?" Jesse asked the officer.

"We're not sure, Mr. Duke. I don't want to upset you over the phone, but we did find some blood on the steering wheel, as if he may have hit his head. Was he the only one who was supposed to have been in the vehicle?"

"Yes ma'am." Jesse confirmed.

Well either way, he walked away or was assisted from the vehicle. We've checked with the area hospitals, and there have been no reports of any John or Jane Does or any Dukes having been admitted or treated in the emergency rooms over the last few days."

"I see." Jesse replied.

"You'll be glad to know that we have a rather sizeable search party in motion in the wooded area around the wreck. To expand, however, we need to get a description of your nephew as well as a recent photo."

Jesse gave the lady a detailed description of Bo and assured her he would be up with a photo that afternoon. Shortly after, he hung up and stood with a worried expression.

He turned to Cooter and Daisy who awaited detailed information on the call as they had only heard his side of it.

"Uncle Jesse, why don't you let me take that picture of Bo up to Tennessee?" Daisy suggested. "They already have a search party out looking for him and you still have Luke to worry about."

"Oh no!" Jesse argued. "You're not going up to Tennessee all by yourself. I already got two of my young 'uns missin' and I ain't sendin' the third one out to get lost too."

"I have a better idea." Cooter announced. "Why don't ya'll send Enos up there with the picture, let Hazzard County pick up the gas tab?"

Uncle Jesse snarled. "I can't do that, Cooter, I gotta go up there and look for him. He could be wanderin' around hurt, maybe even not knowing who he is. That'd explain why we haven't heard from him!"

"And you think you're the person to find him?" Cooter asked. "Jesse, I know it's not an easy thing to sit and wait, but you know about as much about the back roads of Monteagle Tennessee as I do about the main roads of Melborne, Austrailia."

Jesse sighed. He knew that Cooter was right. "Well I may not know the Tennessee back roads but I know plenty about the ones here in Hazzard County. So if I can't find Bo, I'm at least gonna go find Luke. Maybe if he hears the news it'll smack some sense into his head and we can all go up there together and figure out what needs doin'." He turned to his niece. "Daisy. You go git a picture out of that roll we had developed last week and git it over to Enos. After that, you go talk to the McCamey boys, see if you can git anything outta them. Cooter…" He began, turning back to the mechanic. "You go check up on Henderson Ridge and around Morgan's Airfield. I'll check the Chocktaw Indian Caves and around Cherokee Swamp. Keep the CB on Channel 16."

"Yes sir!" Cooter and Daisy replied simultaneously before they all headed out to their vehicles.

XXXXXX

Although the trio searched for Luke the entire day, the only thing any of them managed to collect was the General Lee, which had not surprisingly been forgotten in the events as Cooter pulled it up the hill from where the McCamey's had rolled it the previous day.. Even as dusk turned to dark, none of them were willing to give up. Although Enos had rushed the photo to Monteagle, they were heartbroken that no news on Bo's whereabouts' had returned. The location of Luke was just as mysterious. Despite the fact that they had searched most of Hazzard County, and despite the fact that they had even broadcast Bo's plight over the Hazzard 'Net once, on the chance that Luke might be listening in, there had been no sign of the oldest of the Duke cousins.

"Luke Duke? Luke Duke you out there boy? If ya are ya better pick up!"

Jesse frowned as he looked at the CB. It was unusual for Emma Tizdale to be calling Luke. His gut told him not to answer, for to answer Miz Tizdale normally meant being subjected to thirty minutes of sweet nothing, at least as far as Jesse was concerned. However, she didn't sound as if he heart were full of love this evening.

"Emma this is Jesse Duke. There something' I can help you with?"

"Not unless you can point me to your nephew, Jesse." Emma replied. "That mail bag was supposed to be over at the Capitol City post office at 5 p.m. sharp, and here it is almost 8 and they haven't seen him yet!"

Jesse paused for a moment. "I'm not sure what yer talkin' about, Emma."

"Your nephew, Jesse. He saw me in town earlier today, runnin' around like a chicken with my head cut off. When I explained to him that the carrier that usually picked up the out of town mail was sick and I's havin' to run it over to Capitol City myself, he volunteered to drive it over for me. Jesse, that was 4 o'clock."

Jesse was puzzled by the events, but at least glad that he had some clue to his nephew's whereabouts. "Don't worry, Emma. We'll find Luke and get that mail over there pronto."

"Ten-four, Jesse." Miz Tizdale replied.

"You two git that?" Jesse asked.

"Loud and clear, Shepherd." Daisy replied into the CB.

"Affirmitive Jesse." Cooter added. "Listen ya'll, I'll start sniffin' Luke's trail out again in about 15, gotta stop by the house and take a little chili break, otherwise I won't be concentrating on the task at hand."

Soon after receiving acknowledgement from Daisy and Jesse, Cooter turned down the long driveway that led to his mid-sized farm. It was a farm in the sense that it had a pasture, a farmhouse, a gardening area, and a barn. But as Cooter made his living at the shop, there was never any livestock to tend to or crops to hoe.

Cooter was a bit surprised but happy to see a lamp glowing from his living room window to greet him. A glowing lamp when he was not home usually meant one of two things, and he didn't expect to see a ghost that evening.

As the tow truck slowed at the house, the General Lee bouncing behind it, the lamp was suddenly turned off. 'Too late, Luke Duke.' Cooter said to himself. 'Yer caught.'

Climbing out of the truck, Cooter slammed the door and raced for the backyard, bypassing the front door he normally used. He skidded to a halt and waited only a few seconds before a young man in a blue plaid shirt closed the back door softly behind him.

"Yer under arrest, Luke Duke!"

Startled, and out of habit, Luke dropped the bag he was carrying and raised his hands in the air. It only took him a second to realize who the voice belonged to when the amusing cackles filled the night air.

"Cooter, I'd kill you if I weren't in such a hurry!" Luke remarked, walking toward the front yard.

"Now hang on, Lukas, we've been looking for you all day!" Cooter exclaimed, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Look." Luke replied, putting his hand in the air the way he did when he explained things. "I know ya'll think I'm actin' awful strange, but I got my reasons. I can't explain nothing' to ya right now, okay? So just leave me be."

With that Luke started walking toward the front of the house again but Cooter trotted beside him. "I ain't gonna argue your attitude, Luke, but there's something' else you need to know about. Dixie was found, wrecked, on a side road in Tennessee this morning."

That stopped Luke in his tracks. "Where'd they find it?" He asked.

"Near a town called Monteagle."

"Monteagle." Luke thought a moment. "I know that town. We always pass through it whenever we go to Nashville."

As Luke thought, he turned and started walking again. Flabbergasted, Cooter caught up to him.

"Ain't you even gonna ask about Bo?"

"Oh yeah." Luke stopped. "I mean, of course. Is Bo okay?"

"We don't know. He wasn't in the jeep."

"Oh." Luke asked in his best imitation of a shocked voice. "Um, how's Uncle Jesse takin' it?"

"He ain't takin' it too good, but he wasn't doin' too good before he found out about Bo, either. He's in bad shape before just worryin' about you."

Luke sighed. "I hate to worry Jesse, but what I'm doin's important. Just tell him that I love him and that they'll find Bo, not to worry."

With that Luke patted Cooter's shoulder a couple of times and started walkin' away again.

That was it. As they neared the front door, Cooter grabbed Luke under the arm and opened the seldom-locked door before throwing him inside, where he landed hard on the floor, the mail bag opening up spilling some of the contents on the floor.

Cooter slammed the door and flicked the lamp on. He then turned and pointed a beefy finger at Luke.

"Alright, Luke Duke. I don't know what's goin' on with you and right now, I don't really care. Whatever it is, it can't be worth worrying your Uncle into a tizzy or….or leaving Bo by himself God-knows-where in Tennessee. I mean, I thought it was pretty bad when Uncle Jesse thought you robbed that bank, but when I told you about Bo just now and you didn't drop everything to go look for him- well, well I don't know what to think about you anymore! I mean come on! BO IS MISSING! And all you can offer is a little speech about the police being able to find him. I mean, it's almost like……….."

Cooter paused as his face lit in realization. He quickly replaced the 'you don't care' he was planning to throw out with "……..you already knew Bo was missing."

Luke got up from the floor and was waving his hands as if to tell Cooter to keep quiet but Cooter didn't seem to see him as he walked into the kitchen. He looked on the stove where a beat up old pot held the remnants of some now-lukewarm water. He then looked down at the floor where a couple pieces of mail not addressed to him lay forgotten. It was pretty obvious what Luke had been up to in his house. Cooter just couldn't figure out why.

"No Cooter!" Luke exclaimed loudly as he looked around the room for a paper and pencil. He found a set on the desk and quickly began scribbling a note. "I didn't know Bo was missing. But what can I do? It's dark. He's in Tennessee and I'm here in Georgia. Now I'm sorry, but I gotta go!"

Luke quickly handed a note to Cooter before walking outside. As he read the note, he became calm yet curious at the same time. It said:

'Don't say anything out loud, just meet me at the ole' swimming hole in ten minutes.'

_Now I's wonderin' when Luke was gonna get around to passin' notes, but considerin' what Charlie done yesterday, it don't look like it's gonna do Bo much good at this point._


	10. Chapter 10

The old swimmin' hole that Luke had referred to sat adjacent to the Davenport property. It was simply a deep spot in the Coosawattee River that marked the end of Cooter's 20 acres. It was because of this special place that Bo had briefly considered presenting the adjoining property to the Frothy Brewing Company when he was trying to convince them to establish a camp there. But as they had sat there the night before that presentation, Bo, Luke and Cooter, tugging on the rotting rope that still hung from an old oak tree over the rock that served as a diving board, they decided it was their special place, and it should stay that way.

At the instructed time, exactly 10 minutes later, Cooter arrived at the swimmin' hole to find Luke blowing a small campfire to life on the old diving rock. As he neared his friend, he could make out lines of worry against his chiseled features.

As a twig snapped under Cooter's shoe, Luke instinctively jumped. He quickly looked up and saw Cooter before he relaxed again.

"Ya know, Lukas." Cooter began as he settled on the ground near the campfire. "It just didn't make sense to me before, you trying to sell the General or…..or taking Miz Tizdale's mail. None of it made sense at all. But now that I know about Bo's disappearance, and I saw your reaction to it, I can kinda put two and two together. You need a lot of money, and you need it bad. Bad enough to even…………. take it from Boss Hogg's bank as well."

Luke didn't respond but simply nodded, telling Cooter that his assumption was right.

"Luke, I hafa admit, the whole thing's starting to scare the heck outta me."

"Crazy C,…." Luke began as he picked up a branch and stirred the fire. "Do you remember Charlie and Horace Mantooth?"

"Mantooth, Mantooth……..name rings a bell."

"It was the two guys who robbed Boss Hogg's bank last year, the ones who managed to have the whole thing pinned on me an' Bo."

"That's why it rings a bell." Cooter nodded.

"Well…." Luke began as he dropped the stick into the fire. "They're the ones that got Bo."

Cooter bit his lower lip. "Luke, I got a little grasp on what's goin' on here, but maybe you should start from the beginning so we can ride aboard the same train of thought."

Luke sighed. "When Horace and Charlie robbed Boss Hogg's bank, they got away with $50000.00 more or less. Whether or not they would have gotten away Scot free had Bo and I not caught up to them, no one will ever know. However, in their minds, that's exactly what would have happened. So a few days ago they busted outta jail, and they came to collect their money. They started out by kidnapping Bo, then they got ahold of me, demanding the money. Either I had to come up with it, or they would kill Bo."

Cooter felt fear grow in the pit of his stomach, a fear not only of the situation as it was presented, but a fear that there was more to be revealed.

Cooter shook his head. "You know where they are?"

"Yeah. They're holed up over at Carly's place."

"Carly's place!" Cooter exclaimed. "Luke, why didn't you say nothin'? Ya gotta know all you had to do was call me and I'da been right there with ya when you went and whooped up on those boys."

Luke sighed as he picked up some rotted acorns and began tossing them in the fire one by one. "It's a bit more complicated than that. Horace and Charlie are there. Bo's not."

"Oh." Cooter replied, his forehead creasing with worry. "Then where is Bo?"

Luke let out a shallow grunt as he shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know."

Cooter thought for a minute and shook his head. "Okay, so that's not bad, right? He's not with them. Then maybe he can get away, you know, or…or we can figure out where he is….."

"No…." Luke interrupted. "He can't get away, not by himself."

"But you just said…."

"He's buried, Cooter."

"You know Bo, he won't just stay put he…." Cooter let his voice trail off as what Luke had said sunk in. "He's WHAT?"

Luke swallowed, not knowing if he could say it again.

"In the ground?" Cooter asked, not waiting for the response as he stood and clinched his fists in anger.

"That's usually how it's done." Luke replied.

Cooter began pacing back and forth, removing his greasy hat to run his hand through equally greasy hair. "For how long?"

"Two days now, at least."

"Two days!" Cooter exclaimed, dropping to the ground on his knees and leaning toward Luke. "I admit I slept through most of science class, but I didn't miss the lesson on carbon monoxide. They gotta be shuckin' and jivin' ya Luke, they gotta be!

"There not." Luke replied dreadfully "They had pictures. Took pictures of the whole thing, puttin' him in, coverin' him up, everything."

Cooter sat again, putting a fist to his forehead as he propped his elbow on his knee. "Then there's no way, Luke, no way he can be…."

"HE IS!" Luke insisted. "Don't eventhink that! They set up the grave with an oxygen supply, so he is alive, for now. But if I don't get another three-thousand dollars to them by tomorrow, they're gonna shut it off."

Cooter thought for a moment. "If they do that, there's no way enough air can get down there to keep Bo alive. No way at all. He'd be dead in 10 minutes."

"That's what I figured." Luke nodded.

Cooter looked at his friend. "Good Lord, Luke, why didn't you tell us? Why on earth have you been carrying this all by yourself? For heaven's sake we could have been looking for the grave this whole time! Me, Daisy, Jesse, Rosco, Enos, Cletus, heck I even bet ole' Boss Hogg would have that chauffer of his workin' overtime driving him around!"

"Because." Luke replied. "They planted a bug, or bugs, somewhere, and said if I ever told anybody what I's doin' or what was goin' on, they'd kill Bo right away. I had my doubts about the bugs at first, but I was talkin' to the McCamey boys in town yesterday, and Charlie heard the whole thing. The only thing that was near me at the time was the General, and he was a good twenty feet away, not close enough to pick up a conversation, least I don't think so . But if they were able to pick that up, away from everything, then what should I assume other than no matter where I am, they could somehow hear me?" Luke sighed. "But I figured we's pretty safe back here. Hardly anybody knows about this place, let alone some out of town bank robbers."

"Well ya gotta tell Jesse, he has the right to know!"

"Cooter!" Luke exclaimed, getting into his face. "You can't utter a word past this rock! I don't know where any of them bugs are and if Charlie even gets a hint that I've told anyone, then that's it for Bo! Besides…" he continued, settling back. "Jesse's gettin' old. I don't know if he could handle anything like that."

"I think he could. "He's handled himself pretty well today considering what he thinks is going on." Cooter replied. "But I see your point. Soon as we leave, I'll start searching all the cemeteries I can think of, and I won't say a word out loud. But we shouldn't take any chances, shouldn't waste any time If we can help it.That means the first order of business is to get you the three thousand dollars."

"Well, actually, all I need is twenty-five hundred." Luke admitted sheepishly, showing him the cash he had found in the mail when he had steamed open envelopes. Cooter smiled to spy the piece of paper tucked within the stack that held the addresses and amounts of money that Luke had taken from each envelope, so Luke could one day pay the recipients back.

Cooter arose and went to the right of the diving rock. He felt around for a few minutes before he found what he was looking for. Luke was a bit surprised to hear the sound of a chain as Cooter slowly pulled something from the water. Moments later, a grinning Cooter brought what was on the other end of that chain to the fire-a wet moonshine jug.

"Uh, no thanks C." Luke said, holding up his hands as Cooter popped the cork on the jug. "While I could really use a drink right now, I gotta keep my wits about me."

Cooter looked up at him. "I don't know any faster way to lose your wits or your mind than worrying about how to come up with a big wad of cash in a little amount of time."

With that, Cooter raised the jug and smashed it against the diving rock.

Luke jumped a bit as some broken bits of jug sailed past his head. He then peered at the smashed jug.

Amidst the jagged chunks of ceramic lay several hundred dollar bills.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Who in the h….." Charlie began as he jerked awake from his sleep, instinctively grabbing his gun. There was a loud banging on the door of Carly's house. He lit a flashlight and looked at his watch. It was just past midnight.

"Go see if it's the Duke boy, Horace." He commanded.

When he got no response, he looked over toward his brother. Horace was sitting in a chair, asleep, his head resting on the table.

In anger, Charlie went over and forcefully kicked at the legs of the chair. The chair was tipped easily, spilling Horace on the floor, his head cracking against it.

"Ya dang fool, whattaya doin'? You's supposed to be standin' watch! Can't I rest two minutes around here without you foulin' up?"

Horace grabbed at his head before looking toward the door when the banging commenced once again.

"Go see who it is!" Charlie commanded.

Horace shot himan evil stare before going to the door. Charlie stood in the background, gun poised in his direction.

Horace opened the door to find Luke standing there.

"Git in here!" Charlie commanded as Horace pulled Luke inside and slammed the door.

Luke almost tripped but regained his composure as he came toward the table Horace had just been resting on. Charlie picked up the chair from the floor and set it upright before taking a seat, facing Luke.

"Alright." Luke began, taking the fat wad of folded bills from his front pocket and placing it on the table. "There it is, three-thousand dollars. Now tell me where my cousin is."

"Not so fast, hayseed, you know I gotta count it first." Charlie argued with a sneer. He took the cash and passed it to Horace. Horace then took it to a counter behind the table, where he dug a gym bag from a cabinet underneath. Luke watched as he unzipped the gym bag and began dropping the money inside as he counted, covering up the photos of Bo and the rest of the money.

"Ya know." Charlie began. "You're the perfect example of why nobody has to be poor if they really don't want to. I mean look at you. Two days ago you'd claimed that you didn't have two dollars to fold against each other, yet when the right circumstance presented itself, suddenly you come up with more money than most folks earn in a year. Feels kinda good, don't it?"

"It don't feel good gettin money that was earned by the sweat of someone else's brow." Luke replied.

"I hafta disagree." Charlie replied. "Look how hard you sweated and I have to admit I feel real good right now." He laughed a hearty laugh and was joined by his brother.

"He done good Charlie." Horace confirmed a few moments later as he dropped the last hundred in the bag and zipped it up. "Three thousand on the nose!"

"Okay you heard him. Now where's my cousin?"

"Not so fast hayseed." Charlie replied, scratching his cheek with the revolver. "Part of the deal for you to find your cousin was to keep your mouth shut. I'm afraid you didn't keep up your end of the deal."

"What?" Luke almost laughed. "I didn't tell anybody what was goin' on! Don't you think there would be cops all over the place if I had?"

Horace laughed again. "Such a pity. I thought you told me once that Uncle Jesse of yours taught you it wasn't nice to lie."

Luke shook his head in confusion. The only person he had said a word to was Cooter, but he wasn't about to admit that to Charlie!

"Show him, Horace." Charlie commanded motioning for Luke to hold his hands up.

Luke did that as Horace walked behind him. Luke was surprised, but then felt a feeling of dread as Horace tugged on the back of his belt. He then came around front and held up the bug that had been attached to it!

"So you see, Hayseed." Charlie began. "Not only did you not hold up your end of the bargain, you gave out names as well. So you know what that means."

"But you have to tell me where Bo is! You've got your money, and they know you broke out of jail! Do you honestly think they're not going to hunt you down?"

"That means." Charlie continued as if Luke hadn't even spoke. "That if it's any compensation to you, when your cousin finally suffocates to death in that box of his, you'll already be on the other side to meet him."

With that, Charlie raised his gun, pointed it at Luke, and pulled the trigger."

_Ya'll tell me when it's over. Better yet, don't. If it turns out the way it's lookin', I don't wanna know._


	11. Chapter 11

It had been three days. Three days since Jesse Duke had received that fateful call about Bo's accident in Dixie. He had been worried about his boys, both of them that day, but he never imagined things would turn out like this.

He never imagined that seventy five people could fit into his farmhouse.

He never imagined that he would receive more casseroles than he could eat in a year.

And he never imagined that there would be two matching coffins side by side in his living room.

Although the room was a bustle of activity, with all of their friends and neighbors there, Jesse only seemed to notice one thing. Daisy.

She was moving at a rapid pace, easily side-stepping those that mingled there. She continued the trek until she exited the front door.

Jesse went after her, to make sure she was okay. But how could she be?

He wasn't okay.

When he went out the front door, he spied her sitting in Dixie, preparing to drive away.

"Daisy, where you goin'?" Jesse asked.

"I'm tired of cryin' Jesse. I'm goin' after the guys who did this to Bo and Luke."

"You're what?"

"I'm goin' after them!

"No Daisy, you can't!" Jesse exclaimed, going around the jeep and laying a firm hand on her arm.

"I can't just sit around no more, Jesse. There's a score that needs settlin' with them guys, and Bo and Luke can't do it no more. That leaves me."

"I won't allow it!" Jesse commanded. "I lost my boys this week I'm not gonna take a chance of losing you too!"

"Let go, Uncle Jesse. My mind is made up!"

"No!" Jesse replied, grabbing onto the side of the bar that ran across the top of the jeep.

To show her seriousness, Daisy began to inch away in the jeep. To show his, Jesse held on tight.

Determined, Daisy began to speed up. Soon she was going 20 miles per hour 30…40….50…

"Let go Uncle Jesse!" Daisy instructed.

But Jesse was determined. He held on as Daisy hit 60….70, his legs no longer on the ground, but flying slightly behind him.

"I don't wanna lose my kids!" Jesse cried out. "I don't…."

His voice trailed off as Daisy hit a bump and he was flung from the vehicle.

Jesse let out a small cry as he saw some jagged rocks coming up to meet him.

He landed with a small thud.

Opening his eyes. He looked around. The only thing visible in the darkened room, as he lay on the hardwood floor next to his bed, was the alarm clock which turned to 1 a.m.

"Uncle Jesse!" Daisy exclaimed, opening his bedroom door and switching on a nearby lamp. "You okay?"

"I'm alright." Jesse replied, getting up. "Just had nightmare, that's all."

_**What a coincidence. So…did…..I.**_

Daisy ran over to give him a hand.

"Can't sleep too good, worryin' about the boys." Jesse confessed as he got to his feet, trembling slightly at the memory of the very realistic dream.

"Me either." Daisy admitted. "Uncle Jesse, I know it's late, but why don't we go look for Luke? Most likely he's asleep wherever he is, which means he'll stay put for awhile, give us a better chance of finding him."

"I think yer right." Jesse confirmed. "Go git dressed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXx

Luke flinched when he heard the gun go off. But instead of the large boom he expected to hear, the only sound that met his ears was a click. Surprised, Charlie turned the gun to look at it.

Luke didn't give him a chance to figure things out. As Charlie cocked the hammer again, Luke was fast on his feet. He knocked over the small table in front of Charlie, turning it toward him.. As Charlie tipped backwards in his chair, his arm was knocked skyward. The gun went off this time with an ear shattering shot.

Luke leapt over Charlie to deliver a sucker punch to a surprised Horace, who stood dumbstruck at the unfolding events. With both brothers on the floor, Luke turned and kicked the gun away from Charlie's hand before grabbing the gym bag off the counter and dashing for the door.

"Horace! You dad blasted……." Charlie began as he struggled to untangle himself from the furniture. "Can't ya even load a gun right? He's getting' away…..and with the money and pictures!"

As Charlie and Horace scrambled to their feet, Luke ran outside and jumped into the waiting General Lee. Although the car had taken a nasty spill with the McCamey boys, a quick inspection and a couple of minor adjustments by Cooter had rendered it fully operational again.

As a couple of shots rang out in his direction, Luke threw his beloved car in reverse and backed up a couple hundred feet before jerking the wheel to the right, achieving a perfect 180 degree turn. As he switched to drive, he looked in his rearview mirror to see the headlights coming to life on the beat up old red car the Mantooths had obviously stolen.

"Crazy C, Crazy C, you got your ears on?" Luke asked into the CB.

It took Cooter a moment to answer but he finally did as a shot rang out in Luke's direction. "Loud and clear, Luke. Just checkin' uh….things out." Cooter replied, trying to hint that he was searching cemeteries while keeping his word to remain quiet. "You find out anything?""

"'Fraid not, Cooter. Turns out that dang bug was on the back of my belt the whole time, and because of our talk, they wouldn't tell me a thing about Bo." Luke replied. "I couldn't hang around to demand answers." He added as another shot rang out.

"No need for an explanation, I just heard the reason." Cooter assured him. I'm on my way, where are ya?"

"That's what I'd like to know, Luke Duke!"

"Jesse!" Luke exclaimed, a bit surprised to hear his Uncle's voice.. "Why you out this late?"

"Never mind about that!" Jesse replied as Daisy drove the pickup truck, his smile over hearing from Luke quickly fading when he heard Bo's name in the conversation. "I shoulda figured out it all had somethin' with Bo, with how ya been actin' these past few days. Now where is he and who's that shootin' at ya?"

"Fraid there's no time to explain, Shephard, but I'm glad you're out there. Any way you can meet me at Waylon Corners in about three minutes?"

"I'll meet ya anywhere if it means gettin to the bottom of things!" Jesse assured him.

"Won't be no time to stop. I'm just gonna send somethin' flyin' your way. Can ya be there?

"Of course!" Jesse assured him.

"Ten-four Shepherd."

"And when you get to Waylon Corners, Luke Duke, ya just sit there, 'cause you're under arrest!" A new voiceadded.

"Luke ain't done nothin' J.D., so just git back in the bed 'n turn off ya C.B. and go back to sleep! Don't nothin' concern you tonight." Jesse replied.

"Well it just so happens it does concern me if it has anything to do with that nephew of yours, Jesse Duke! I just got me an anonymous C.B. message over on channel 36 that he was in cahoots with that pair that robbed my bank, and that he's runnin' around with that stolen money even as we speak!"

Luke smirked at what he heard. There was only one person who could have made that call, and that was the person who saw no hope of getting it back. Charlie.

Rosco! Enos!"

Rosco woke from where he slept in his patrol car outside the bank, while Enos jerked awake at the same time inside the police station. Since his bank had been robbed, Boss had demanded round the clock police service, allowing only one at a time- in this case, Cletus- to be off.

"Uh, yes Boss?" Rosco asked, as he rubbed sleep from his eyes, Flash offering a couple of barks from the passenger seat.

"You been sleepin', ain't ya? Cause if ya hadn't, you'd done know what's goin' on. Luke Duke's gonna be at Waylon Corners in about two minutes. Now git over there and arrest him!"

"What for?" Rosco asked.

"Never mind what for. Just do as yer told!"

"Ten-four little fat buddy!" Rosco exclaimed, peeling away from the bank.

Cooter frowned as he heard the exchange on the CB. "Say ya'll, how 'bout a little country music?"

"Ten-four." All the dukes replied, switching their CB's to channel 47 as Enos joined the chase and Boss ordered his chauffer out of bed.

_**Folks, yall are about to witness a historical moment. The first Hazzard County car chase in complete darkness. Ya'll stick around, 'cause it's bound to get real interestin'.**_


	12. Chapter 12

Luke veered sharply to the right onto the path that would take him to Waylon Corners as the Mantooths struggled to keep up.

He reached down to switch the CB to channel 47 just in time to hear Cooter's voice.

"Everybody home on the Hazzard 'net?"

"Right here Cooter." Jesse replied.

"Yeah, me too." Luke added. "Jesse, how far away are ya?"

"''bout a minute and a half. Luke, you sure it's a good idea to meet there? I mean with Rosco and Enos on the way?"

"Ain't got no choice, Shephard. When we meet, I'm gonna toss you a gym bag. After you get it, I want you to work on getting Enos off by himself and give him that bag. If we can somehow get the only honest member of the Hazzard County police force to listen to our side of the story, theirs a good chance I'm not gonna get in near as much trouble as I could."

"Well what side of the story would that be? You ain't told me nothin' about what's goin' on with you and you still ain't told me what's goin' on with Bo!"

"Get ready shepherd, I'm roundin' the bend."

Luke dropped the CB and veered sharply to the right, the post that marked Waylon Corners illuminated in his headlights dead ahead as he headed north. Directly opposite, he spied the one working headlight of the pickup truck rushing up to pass him on his left.

As the two vehicles neared each other, they slowed. Luke was able to toss the bag perfectly into Daisy's window without having to come to a complete stop. As the vehicles increased speed once again, the blue flashing lights of Rosco and Enos's cars came barreling in from the east.

Rosco caught sight of the General and gave chase with Enos close behind. As Enos made his turn, Cooter arrived on the scene from the west, just in enough time to meet up with the Mantooths who were still following Luke. Charlie wasn't dumb. He knew that the slowing pickup truck and General Lee most likely meant that a handoff had taken place. They spun around to chase Daisy, and Cooter veered to the right to follow them.

"Lost Sheep, ya might wanna do a one-eighty. Our boys just saw their golden moment and are nibblin' on Bo-Peep's tail feathers."

"Ten-four Crazy C. Bo-Peep how ya doin' so far?" Luke asked as he spun his vehicle around, the back tires slipping in wet Georgia red clay.

"OK so far Luke. I don't know who these guys are or why they're chasing me, but they haven't got ahold of me yet. Can't seem to shake 'em though."

"Just hang on, Bo Peep." Luke replied as he heard a crash behind him. He looked in the rearview mirror and spied the headlights of the two patrol cars at odd angles in the road, apparently having hit one another as they attempted to turn around and pursue Luke. "You still on Dogwood Lane south?"

"Ten-four Luke. I just passed the driveway that leads up to Carly's old place, best I can tell. It's hard to tell, goin' this fast in the dark."

Luke's jaw flinched at the thought. How ironic. Now that things looked like they were about to come to an end, one way or another, he found himself in the exact same spot as where it all started.

"Ok Bo Peep, that means you're just a stone's throw from Cool Springs Circle. You'll go around that big curve before you get there. Once you're outta site of those guys that's on your tail, swing onto the Circle and kill your lights."

"Okay, Luke." Daisy replied as the curve loomed ahead. She spun into the curve as quickly as she could and turned the pickup onto the Circle.

"Careful Daisy!" Jesse exclaimed as the pickup slid on the on the slippery red-clay. The vehicle finally came to a rest when the right front tire slipped off the road, dangling in mid-air over the ditch. Hearing the roar of the Mantooths' engine coming up fast, Daisy quickly reached down and switched off the lights just in the nick of time.

"You alright, Uncle Jesse?" Daisy asked as the Mantooths went barreling by with Cooter in pursuit, the pickup unnoticed.

"Only physically." Jesse muttered as Daisy picked up the CB.

"Lost Sheep, the plan worked but I'm afraid we're outta the game. We slid in the mud and got stuck out here."

"You're far from out." Luke replied. "Now's the time for you to turn back over to 36 and ask Enos for help. When you get ahold of him, give him the bag."

"And what are we supposed to tell him when we give him that bag? There ain't a bit of this makin' any sense to me and I want some answers, especially if it's got somethin' to do with Bo!" Jesse demanded, having grabbed the CB from Daisy's hand as Luke passed by in the background, being chased by Enos and Rosco once again.

"Shepherd…." Luke began, not wanting to explain things but wanting his uncle to know why the events of the previous few days had taken place should he not make it out of this alive. "…..the folks that are chasing us, that's the Mantooth gang."

Jesse thought a minute. "The ones that robbed J.D.'s bank last year?"

"Affirmative. They felt me 'n Bo cheated them outta that money when we turned 'em in, so they busted outta jail and come to collect it- from us. That's why I borrowed that money from Billy Kay……….and stole that mail bag………..and

"And?" Jesse pressed.

" and……..robbed Boss's Bank."

Luke could only imagine the look on Jesse's face when nothing but dead air met him in response.

Jesse sat in his pickup truck, the exact look that Luke imagined etched onto his face. He looked at Daisy in shock as the CB cracked to life again. "Go ahead 'n get ahold of Enos I know you're wonderin' why I went so far to get that money for them. The answer to that…." Luke continued "………can be found in the photos that are in that gym bag."

XXXXXXXX

"Where'd that truck go, Charlie?" Horace asked as his brother squinted at the road ahead in the darkened conditions.

"It got away!" Charlie exclaimed, slamming his fist on the steering wheel. "Dang it! We had all that money in our hands and now there's no way to recover it!"

"Well maybe there is, Charlie." Horace suggested as Cooter's headlights bore down on them. "I mean, he can't turn that money into the police without going to jail. They already think he's guilty of robbery. Maybe we can call him, offer to let him know where the grave is in exchange for getting the money back." He added as he pushed the CB button, preparing to call Luke.

"We can't do that!" Charlie objected. "He's done told that dang mechanic friend of his who we are! If the police find out we's the ones who forced him into robbin' that bank they'll have every FBI agent within a fifty mile radius coverin' these roads lookin' for us like a colony of ants. The best thing for us to do is shake these hayseeds and git out of town 'fore we're caught and sent back to the pokey. And as sure as my name is Charlie Mantooth, I ain't goin' back there!"

"Me neither!...Horace grinned. "Sure as my name is Jasper Horace Mantooth the Third!"

Charlie rolled his eyes, then grinned himself. "'Least them dang Dukes is gonna get their just rewards! Bo Duke's gonna suffer and die right where he's buried!"

Horace laughed knowingly as Charlie tried to shake the chase parade, which began with Cooter, included Luke, and ended with Rosco.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Possum on a gumbush!" Enos exclaimed as he examined the pictures of Bo in his headlights. Daisy and Jesse stood behind him, looking as if it were all they could do to support one another in a standing position after the shocking revelation.

Enos continued to flip the photos until he finally reached the final one that had been taken. His brow creased in concentration as he scanned the photo. "Why this is the Oldfield Cemetery!" He exclaimed, slapping the print. Jesse and Daisy rushed forward as he put his finger on a grave in the background, the stone labeled with the name 'Strait'.

"That's my granny and grandpappy's stone. I'd know it anywhere!"

"Well what are we waitin' for? Let's git over there!" Jesse exclaimed, hurriedly leading the group to the patrol car where they all filed in.

"I gotta tell the sheriff!" Enos exclaimed, picking up the CB as he backed away from the stuck pickup truck. "This is Deputy Enos Strait calling Sheriff Rosco. Sheriff, please come in!"

"I'm gonna go back to 36, see what's goin' on with Rosco." Luke announced to Cooter, turning back the dial. Cooter decided to do the same thing as Rosco's reply came in.

"I can't talk to you now, Enos." Rosco replied, sounding a bit distressed. "I'm in hot pursuit of the Mantooth gang that robbed Boss's bank last year. As a matter of fact, I need you're help catching them. From what I heard 'em say, it sounds like they killed Bo Duke."

Charlie frowned in confusion at Rosco's statement. He looked at Horace, who sat with the CB still in his hand, the button pressed.

The car swerved slightly as Charlie reached over and jerked the CB from his brother's hand. "How can ya be so…." He began. "You had the button pressed! They heard everything we just said!"

Charlie clinched his teeth as he looked in his mirror, the parade still in pursuit.

"We know what they done, sheriff. We got the pictures right here. Bo's buried up at the Oldfield Cemetery!"

"The Oldfield Cemetery!" Cooter exclaimed. "That's the one that's just off Hwy 225 on the way into Chickasaw County!"

"We're on our way!" Luke exclaimed, veering off the beaten path to make his own road cross-country, Cooter following on his heels.

"Horace. Take the wheel." Charlie instructed his brother.

"Why?" Horace felt compelled to ask as Enos closed in behind Rosco once again while Luke and Cooter disappeared far behind them.

"Because we're gonna bust them cops tires out, and with your track record, I can't trust you to hit your target."

As Charlie climbed in the back to load his gun, Horace slid over and assumed driving duties. While he loaded, Rosco sent a couple of his own shots their way, hoping to bust out their tires as well. But Rosco couldn't shoot and drive at the same time in broad daylight, much less at dark.

"Enos, we gotta go over to Oldfield Cemetery right now!" Daisy pleaded.

"I'm sorry, Daisy, but these guys needs to be put behind bars where they can't hurt no more innocent people. They're dangerous. I can't leave the sheriff to handle things by himself."

Daisy sat back in the backseat, tears coming to her eyes while Jesse sat in front, his eyes closed and his head bowed against folded hands. Enos swallowed as he looked at the pair, afraid of the outcome. He had seen the oxygen tank in the photo, but how long had it been since someone had checked it, with everything that had gone on that evening?

Enos was shaken away from his thoughts and back to reality as he heard a shot ring out in his direction. Rosco's car bounced wildly before spinning sideways in the road, coming to an abrupt halt.

Enos swerved to miss the stalled car, his own patrol car going off the road. As he looked ahead, what he saw horrified him.

The car went airborne as it drove off of a riverbank! As the bank on the other side came rushing up to meet them, Jesse, Daisy and Enos let out collective gasps!

Seeing the events unfold, Charlie grinned as he climbed back in the window, the sound of the terrible crash vibrating through the air behind him. Horace looked in his rearview mirror. No one was following him. At last!

"That was great, Charlie!" Horace exclaimed as Charlie climbed into the front passenger's seat. "Now we can high tail it outta town without a worry!"

"Not just yet." Charlie replied, checking his revolver, seeing the five shots that were remaining. "Make a quick trip by that cemetery. I got a few more bullets to burn."

**_Well let's see. Jesse Daisy and Enos are caught up in a car wreck, the General's been wrecked, Boss's been robbed, Rosco's stuck with a busted tire and overtime, and Luke and Cooter are fixin' ta get shot at. Ya know, I'm about to wonder if ole' Bo didn't get the better end of the deal in all this._**


	13. Chapter 13

As the Mantooth gang escaped into the far distance, Rosco offered them nothing more than a fleeting glance as he reached over into the glove department to dig out the small flashlight that he kept there. Finding it, he flicked the switch for a quick test before dashing out of the car and down the riverbank.

"Enos!" Rosco yelled as he dipped his feet in the icy cold water. He trudged out to the disabled patrol car and shone his light on Enos face.

"Open yer eyes, Enos!" Uncle Jesse was saying, shaking the deputy by the arm as Enos's hands remained tightly wound around the steering wheel.

"I'm afraid to, Uncle Jesse. I can see that white light shinin' out to me from the other side."

"That ain't a light from the other side, Enos. That's Rosco's flashlight!" Daisy explained.

Enos cracked open his eyes and looked around. "I'm alive!" He exclaimed with a big grin and that funny laugh that was his trademark.

"But my boys might not be if we don't quit soakin' our feet and high tail it over to the Oldfield Cemetery!" Jesse reminded him.

"Oh yeah, right!" Enos exclaimed, getting serious again. "Help me with the door, sheriff!" He commanded as he tried his door and it refused to open.

Rosco stuck the end of the flashlight in his mouth and tugged on Enos' door while Enos pushed. Finally, buckling under the weight of the combined effort, the door released itself and swung open rapidly, poor Enos landing face first in the water.

Getting up, he turned to assist Rosco in getting Jesse and Daisy out of the vehicle. Aside from nasty bruises brought on by the effects of the seatbelts, none of the occupants were hurt.

"Rosco! Rosco you alright?" A voice shouted from the bridge.

"That's Doc Appleby!" Daisy exclaimed as the four of them trudged out of the river and up the bank.

"Oh, there you are Rosco!" Doc Appleby exclaimed with a tired smile. "When I saw your patrol car here in the middle of the road and you gone, I's afraid ya might've been hurt. Why, what's goin' on?" He asked when he spied Enos, Daisy, and Jesse with him.

"We's in a wreck but we're alright." Jesse quickly explained as he rushed over and pulled on Doc Appleby's arm. "Come on Homer! Ya gotta give us a ride!"

"Hang on, Jesse." Doc Appleby replied as he was being dragged toward his own vehicle. "I can't drive ya anywhere, I'm plumb wore out. Been over at the Winkler farm deliverin' Sarah's twins and it was an eighteen hour labor!"

"Then Rosco'll drive!" Jesse replied, opening the back door. He pushed Doc Appleby inside to the middle and got in next to him. Daisy sat in the back on the other side while Enos climbed in front to sit next to Rosco. Before all the doors were closed, Rosco took off.

"I'm actually glad you happened along, Homer. There's a good chance we might need you tonight." Jesse announced.

"Why, where we goin'?" Doc Appleby asked.

"We're headin' over to the Oldfield Cemetery." Daisy replied.

Doc Appleby looked back and forth from Daisy to Jesse in disbelief. "I'm afraid you Dukes might be even more tired than I am. Them folks at Oldfield, there ain't nothin' I can do for them."

Uncle Jesse gritted his teeth at the statement. "That's where I hope you're wrong."

XXXXXXXXXX

"We don't have time to mess with this anymore. Let's go."

That statement was uttered by Luke as Cooter grabbed a shovel from his vehicle and the pair rushed to the General Lee. A quick inspection of the tow truck showed that the rear tires were stuck in the mud, not that an inspection had been necessary. Cooter had sat there spinning for a few moments.

"What does the tow truck driver do when the tow truck is stuck?" Cooter muttered as he tossed the shovel in the back seat and Luke floored it away from there.

"That was my fault, I suppose." Luke replied. "I's in such a hurry to get to Bo I's flyin' over all the creeks. I didn't think about the fact you'd have ta wade 'em."

"Well that ain't important right now. Let's just get to Bo."

The two rode in silence as Luke continued to jump creeks and streams, straining to find the usual ramps in the dark. Cooter looked at his friend who drove with determination.

"He's gonna be alright, ya know." Cooter announced, hoping he was right.

"However he is…..." Luke muttered. "…………it's gonna be a whole lot better than them Mantooths end up after I get ahold of them."

"Well who says you get to have all the fun?" Cooter asked as he formed fists and knocked them together.

Soon the weathered sign that pointed out the Oldfield Cemetery loomed ahead. Luke jerked the wheel to the right, achieving an unintentional 150 degree turn before straightening out and entering the cemetery drive.

He drove the short quarter mile route before seeing the headlights of the General reflecting back toward him as they shone off of some of the newer tombstones that had been erected there. He pulled in a bit and skidded to a halt before he and Cooter jumped from the General.

"Grab the shovel Cooter!" Luke demanded as he quickly began searching the cemetery. He ran amongst the stones, the faraway headlights of the General and faint moonlight offering him his only source of light.

"Bo! Bo where are ya?" Luke yelled, straining to hear against the breeze and creaking pine trees, offering as much effort to his sight as he concentrated his gaze in the darkened conditions. He didn't know if Bo would even be able to hear him or yell loud enough to respond from underground, but if he could, Luke certainly wanted the help as well as the reassurance that he was still alive.

"Try the newer section, burying him in the old one would've looked suspicious to anyone who come out." Cooter suggested as he dodged stones in the graveyard, carrying the shovel along.

"Right!" Luke threw back as he raced to the more modern section of the cemetery. As he ran along in the dark, he hoped over tombstones on the way. As he neared the newer section of the cemetery, he hurdled over the last old tombstone, giving a yelp of surprise when his foot didn't touch the ground!

Luke fell six feet, down into a pit. When he landed there, he heard something fall from above. He shielded himself as a few shovels and some bits of dirt came to rest on top of him.

"Luke!" He heard Cooter yell, listening as dry leaves crunched under his feet as he ran across the cemetery. He finally reached the opening of the new grave and peered inside.

"Luke, you alright buddy?"

"Yeah. Just give me a hand." Luke groaned, reaching for Cooter's assistance.

Cooter dropped the shovel and braced himself to assist Luke out of the ditch. Grabbing Luke's outstretched hands, he gave a swift tug upwards as Luke walked up the side.

"Ow!" Luke cried out when he finally stood at the side, almost collapsing again. He would have had Cooter not caught him on his way down.

"What is it?" Cooter asked, his brow creased with worry.

Luke felt down onto the calf of his leg. He felt a rip in his jeans and a gash from which warm liquid seeped. "I think one of those dang shovels got me on the way down." He grimaced.

"You just stay put. I'll go hunt Bo." Cooter suggested as he quickly lowered Luke into a sitting position near a tombstone.

"Go hunt him, but I ain't stayin' put." Luke yelled in reply after Cooter had already sprinted across the graveyard once again, searching.

Luke got to his feet as quickly as he could. He tried to put some weight on the bad leg, but it rejected the effort, refusing to work despite the situation at hand.

"Dang it!" Luke muttered to himself as he looked at his leg again. "First chance I get to really help Bo and……"

"Luke! Look out!" Cooter yelled from across the cemetery.

Luke jerked his head up and was immediately knocked down by a sucker punch, unable to see who delivered it.

As he shook his head, he finally got his vision into focus and looked again.

He saw a jagged rock- the edge of an old tombstone- rushing down to meet his head.

And it was in Horace's hand!

I hope ole' Doc Appleby has a tent in the truck of his car. If things keep up the way they have, it looks like he might have to set up a field hospital.


	14. Chapter 14

As the jagged rock came down toward Luke, his Marine instincts kicked in and he threw his arm up and caught Horace's in mid air. He then twisted his body, forcing Horace to fall down and the rock to fall away from his hand.

As Cooter ran toward the scuffle he was stopped by Charlie, who popped up from behind a tombstone like a jack-in-the-box pointing a gun at him. In a brief glance of the drive that surrounded the graveyard, Cooter spotted their car in the rear and mentally kicked himself for not noticing it before.

Charlie quickly turned his head back and forth between Cooter and the duo who wrestled on the ground.

"Horace! The idea was to get 'em both at gunpoint!" Charlie couldn't help but reprimand his brother even as he fought. "Turn 'im over so I can get a shot!"

Charlie quickly turned to check on Cooter once again as Horace attempted to wrestle Luke around to the top. After a moment, he then turned back to check on Horace once again.

That's when Cooter sent his shovel flying in Charlie's direction!

The shovel met it's target, catching him on the arm. As Charlie's arm was thrown off balance, the gun went off with a deafening shot. Before he had a chance to recover, Cooter had cleared a couple of tombstones and was on top of him.

Charlie held on to the gun and attempted to point it at the mechanic as they rolled around on the ground. Realizing what was going on, Cooter caught hold of his arm and bit him hard on the wrist.

Charlie cried out as his fingers opened up and he let go of the gun. Cooter found his footing and stood up, pulling Charlie along with him.

"Funny how you city boys turn into a bunch of sissies when ya ain't got nothin' but yer fists to rely on." Cooter commented as he delivered a right punch to Charlie. Charlie would have fell back but was held upright by Cooter who had a firm grasp on his shirt, ready to deliver yet another punch.

Meanwhile, Luke and Horace continued to wrestle on the ground. Luke managed to grab a handful of Horace's hair, pulling his head back as he pulled a few strands out. Getting him into position, Luke quickly forced his head back toward him, delivering a firm and powerful head bunt. As Luke saw stars, he faintly decided that may not have been the best idea to follow through on.

But he changed his mind when Horace, a bit dizzy himself, rolled to the side and lay on the ground. Feeling victorious, Luke looked over at him, breathing heavily from the struggle.

But Horace had called his bluff. When Luke moved in for a closer look, Horace threw into his face the grave dirt he had curled into his hand. Crying out, Luke grabbed his eyes as Horace jumped up, bringing down the heel of his boot on Luke's open wound. A pain shot through Luke's body that brought on an instant wave of nausea, and his stomach gave up the crackers he had forced himself to swallow for supper.

As Luke hunched over dealing with the sickness, Horace jumped up and grabbed onto the gun that Charlie had dropped. Firing a shot in the air, the fight between Cooter and Charlie quickly came to an end.

"Good……good job, Horace." Charlie managed, breathing heavily. "Ya finally got somethin' right."

As Luke sat back against the tombstone once again, groaning in pain and in frustration, Charlie grabbed Cooter's shirt, and dealt him a couple of right crosses in revenge before throwing him down in a sitting position next to Luke."

As the four nursed their wounds and dabbed their sweat for a few moments, nothing could be heard except the huff-puffing of their breath as they formed small clouds against the still-cool nighttime spring air.

Finally, Charlie managed a laugh. "Well Horace…" He began, slapping his brother's back. "Least you didn't waste any effort diggin' that grave there yesterday."

"What are you talking about?" Luke asked as his heavy breathing finally began to slow somewhat.

"Why that's for you hayseed." Charlie stated. "You don't honestly think we had any plans to let you go, being able to identify us and all."

Cooter and Luke sat in silence. Luke, tired of fighting and worrying, wanted to give up, the idea of death sounding almost tempting.

Charlie brightened with an idea. "Say Horace, you know what would be fun?"

"What's that?"

"I think it'd be real fun…." Charlie continued. "To watch our hero here get buried by someone who actually cares about him."

"Ain't no way!" Cooter protested. "You'd have to kill me too."

"Well as tempting as that is, I wasn't talking about you." Charlie clarified. "Horace, give me the gun."

Horace handed him the gun then listened as Charlie gave his next instructions.

"Now git that shovel over there and go dig up blondie. After bein' down there for near three days, I'm sure he'd do _ANYTHING_ to get out of that box."

"Ain't no need in that Charlie." Horace replied, laughing a mad, nervous laugh.

"What's that supposed to mean?" His brother asked.

"You're gonna love this, Charlie!" Horace replied in excitement. "Them Dukes are really gonna get there's this time, 'cause yesterday, I disconnected that hose!"

"You did what?" Charlie asked.

Horace laughed again as he looked at Luke and Cooter. "Bo Duke ain't had no air for near 18 hours now. He's as dead as anyone in this graveyard!"

Charlie grinned. "Why Horace, I underestimated you. That's brillia-"

Charlie was cut off abruptly as he and Horace were simultaneously attacked once again by Cooter and Luke!

The good ole' boys attacked with a lack of self-control, a fierceness fueled by grief. This time, the Mantooths could do nothing to defend themselves and only got relief when Rosco stood above them, firing his gun in the air as Enos and a pajama-clad Cletus pulled Luke and Cooter off of them.

"Is that them? Is that them?" Boss Hogg asked as he looked at the unrecognizable, battered and broken Mantooths who lay on the ground.

"That's them, Mr. Hogg. The Mantooth gang." Enos confirmed as he released Cooter and reached down to handcuff Charlie. "Get the other one, Cletus." He instructed.

Boss laughed a greedy laugh as Jesse and Daisy rushed to check on Luke and Cooter . "Ya done good abandoning' Luke Duke to go chasing' after these guys, Rosco. When I's getting' ready to call my chauffer, I heard an all points bulletin from the GBI saying' there was a big reward for the capture of these two. That's why I got Cletus here out of bed. And it's already payin' off!" Boss concluded in glee, patting the gym bag he had extracted from Doc Appleby's car.

Luke brushed off Jesse's fussing and, ignoring Boss, grabbed a shovel from the open grave and began limping away. As Daisy, Jesse, and Cooter grabbed shovels of their own, Cletus and Enos loaded the Mantooths in the back of Cletus' car.

"Hang on, Luke. I'll show ya!" Enos exclaimed,rushing through the graveyard, leaving Cletus to secure the criminals in the backseat.

"What are they doin'?" Boss asked, frowning as the first hints of daylight began to appear.

"They're huntin' Bo." Rosco offered.

"Huntin' Bo?"

"Yeah." Rosco replied, on the verge of tears. "Them Mantooths, they done buried him alive. That's why Luke done what he done, to get up the money to get him back."

"There it is, over there!" Enos exclaimed, spying the freshly dug grave not far from where his grandparents were buried.

Forgetting his injury, Luke hobbled quickly toward the grave. Dropping down beside it, he tore the flowers away.

Just as Horace had said, the oxygen tank sat there, the hose disconnected.

The fact had escaped none of those in attendance. Still, Luke stood up and plunged his shovel deep into the ground, heaving mounds of dirt over his shoulder.

The rest of the group followed suit, digging in their own area, not a dry eye to be had.

"Maybe he's alright, ya know. Bo….he's tough." Daisy offered, not seeing the sad, shaking head of Doc Appleby who stood watching in the background before he dashed back to his car.

Luke and Cooter dug like madmen, but fatigue quickly took it's toll on both of them. Just as Luke thought he would collapse, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Luke turned and glanced at Boss Hogg, who's hand reached for his shovel. Not in any shape to argue, Luke allowed him to take it. He stumbled back and sat on the ground, joined by Cooter who had surrendered his shovel to Rosco. Had the situation not been so dire, they would have been smiling and joking about the irony of it all. Instead, they focused against the dawn at the open grave, at which nearby sat a forgotten black gym bag.

Moments later an unmistakable _THUNK_ vibrated against the handle of Enos' shovel. He jumped down on top of the wooden box and began to brush the remaining mounds of dirt away.

"Whaddaya doin', Enos? Get him outta there!" Jesse commanded, anxious but afraid at the same time.

"Here's some rope, Enos!" Doc Appleby announced, handing Enos the material he had returned to his car to get.

Enos reached up for the rope and took it, flossing one end under thetop end of the coffin before turning to do the same to the bottom end. He then picked up the slack and reached for Rosco, who quickly assisted him from the grave. With a new surge of adrenaline, Cooter and Luke stood to join the group.

"Okay everybody. On the count of three." Cletus instructed as each person grabbed one of the four support ropes. "One, two, three……."

At the appointed number, everyone began to pull on the rope, praying it wouldn't break. Slowly but surely, the wooden box was raised to the top of the ground, broken bits of pvc pipe falling to the wayside.

"Okay hold it!" Cletus instructed. "Sheriff, you and Cooter go get him."

As the group held the ropes, Boss and Doc Appleby on one, Enos on one, Luke and Cletus on one, and Jesse and Daisy on the final one, Cooter and Rosco rushed to either end of the grave. Counting to three again, they hoisted the coffin up, moving it a few feet over and placing it on firm ground.

As soon as the coffin was in place, the group tossed the ropes and rushed over. Luke tugged on the lid and quickly examined it. "It's nailed shut!" He exclaimed in disbelief.

"I've got a hammer in the patrol car." Cletus announced, rushing to fetch it.

"Bo, if you can here us, just hang on, son. Doc Appleby's here, he can fix ya up." Jesse saidto the dirty box, not getting the response he had hoped for.

"Here's the hammer!" Cletus yelled, rushing back. He handed it off to Enos who began to do what he could to pry the nails away.

"Uh, careful now Enos, you don't wanna hurt him." Boss offered.

After a few agonizing moments, Enos had loosened the lid. Looking up at Bo's family, he backed away.

"Now hang on, Jesse." Doc Appleby commanded, laying one hand on Jesse's arm and putting up his other to stop Daisy and Luke as they all rushed forward.

"Git out of our way, Homer, we gotta get the boy some help!" Jesse ordered.

"No Jesse." Doc Appleby replied calmly, trying to comfort him. "Bo was without air down there. For how long, I don't know. But I do know that if it was more than just a few minutes, well…..I just want you to be prepared for what you are about to see."

"Bo ain't dead!" Jesse exclaimed defiantly.

"I wish he weren't." Doc Appleby replied. "But right now, before we open him, it's time to face facts. Our Lord, he delivers many miracles our way. But for him to be able to do his job, the resources to perform those miracles have to be in place. And Jesse…." Doc Appleby continued. "The resources….they just weren't there. If they had been, then Bo'd be climbin' outta that box right now. He is able, after all."

Uncle Jesse glanced at the coffin once again, seeing absolutely no sign of movement coming from within. As Daisy put one hand to her mouth and slipped her other arm around Jesse's waist, he allowed lines of tears to slip down his cheeks.

Look looked around at the solemn group, those who wore hats having removed them. Swallowing hard, he nodded his head. "I'll do it."

Luke hobbled over and went down to his knees beside the coffin. All attendees held their breaths, wanting the moment of truth to be over but afraid to see it at the same time.

Luke ran his hand along the wood, then, taking a deep breath, lifted the lid.

"Oh Uncle Jesse!" Daisy sobbed, looking into the coffin then turning to bury her face in his worn overalls.

_**Speaking of Daisy, she's been whoopin' up on a lil' ole gal over in Hazzard Square for a few days now. Our author friend feels it's high time we took a break from this and looked in on that situation once again. How do ya'll feel about that?**_

(A/N: Huh? What's the balladeer sayin'? He's sayin' that the evil H.G. Stewart is gonna leave ya'll sweatin' for awhile while she goes and gets in another chapter of the other story she's got goin' here "The Mysterious Goldie Matthews." She's just evil that way.)


	15. Chapter 15

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"It sure looks that way."

"It's such a shame, you know, him being so young and all."

"Well it's his own fault. If he'd just kept his nose outta other people's business, he would be safe right now."

"That's true, but still, think about all those lost years. The wife he never married, the kids he never had….."

"Kids? They would've been troublemakers, just like their old man. You can put money on that."

"And what about Jesse there? It's gonna be hard for him to take up the boy's slack on that farm."

"Well, look who's gotten sentimental all of a sudden. You sure didn't think about wives and kids and elderly uncles when you was disconnectin' that oxygen, Horace!"

"I wasn't goin' to jail for murder then, Charlie."

"Well it sure looks like that's where we're headin' now." Charlie replied, as he watched the events unfold at the gravesite from the backseat of Cletus's car.

XXXXXXX

As Daisy buried her face in Jesse's overalls, Luke offered a brief glance into the coffin before he stood up as quickly as his injured leg would allow, unintentionally causing the lid to slam shut again.

He slowly backed away from the coffin before he turned and hobbled across the graveyard. Had he been uninjured, he would have gladly ran away from there, exerting anger and frustration in every step of his sprint. Instead, he went to a tombstone just a few feet away and collapsed against it as the rest of the group looked at each other in disbelief.

Luke grabbed on to the tombstone, squeezing away his anger as he squeezed his eyes shut against the tears that wanted to fall.

"Don't worry, Luke."

Luke almost jumped out of his skin, not expecting the hand that was placed on his shoulder.

"Them dang, Mantooths, Cooter." Luke began, sniffing loudly. "What have they done to him?"

"Now Luke, try to calm down….."

"Calm down?" Luke asked, bewildered. "After all I've been through, after all I've done for the chance to get Bo back! And here I thought, just maybe, that chance had come. And it didn't, Cooter!"

Luke's statement ended in a yell, which brought the attention of everyone there. When he stood and began walking to Cletus's patrol car, Cooter, nor anyone else for that matter, dared to stop him.

Luke reached the car and grabbed at the door handle that led to the backseat, where the Mantooths sat. Finding it locked, as was standard, he raced around for the other side, finding the same result. In frustration, he simply began beating on the windows.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?" Luke yelled. He continued to alternate between beating on the windows and rocking the car. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIM?" He repeated the question again, the Mantooths looking at him with amazed expressions.

Pushing against the car once more, Luke then turned and raced across the graveyard, straight to the coffin. Reaching down, he tore open the lid and dug out what was inside.

"WHERE IS HE?" Luke yelled back toward Cletus's car, holding a moonshine jug up in the air. He hurled the moonshine jug, smashing it against a tombstone a few feet away, the clear liquid running all over the place. He then collapsed on the ground near the coffin, turning to look at the 11 remaining jugs that lined the inside before pressing his forehead to his knees.

"Uncle Jesse, he's goin' crazy." Daisy said, wiping away her tears of relief that Bo had not been in the coffin to make room for new ones over worry for her eldest cousin.

"Naw, he's just tired and hurt and aggravated like the rest of us, only he's been dealing with it longer than we have."

"This is a sick joke." Luke stated, kicking at the coffin. "No, it's not a joke….just sick and cruel. How can we be sure he was even in there?"

"Don't nobody worry." Rosco suggested. "Me and my inferior officers here will go and question that Mantooth gang and get to the bottom of all this!"

"And I'm going to get that money bag back!" Boss announced, plucking a cigar from his pocket and jamming it into his mouth.

"Hang on just a minute, everybody." Cooter announced, holding up his hand.

"How come?" Boss asked as Rosco, Cletus, and Enos stopped in their tracks.

"'Cause them flowers on that grave over there, they're turned over." Cooter replied nodding his head in the direction of a grave."

Doc Appleby looked and shrugged his shoulders. "What's the big deal?"

"Well normally, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, 'cept the flowers on the next grave are turned over, too."

"Could've been the wind." Enos offered.

Cooter nodded. "It coulda been. But I don't think the wind had anything to do with these." He replied, getting in a squatting position near the ground.

As the group gathered around him, Cooter pointed to a couple of jagged lines that ran haphazardly from the grave they had just dug up toward the two with the misplaced flowers. Even Luke arose from where he sat to look in on the situation.

"Now if I were a betting man…" Cooter looked at the group and smiled. "….and I am." He then looked back at the lines. "….I'd say these lines look an awful lot like the kind of lines made by somebody's boots. The kind of lines that would be made if that somebody was bein' dragged away."

"And if that's the case, then those flowers would be turned over because that person would have knocked them over while he was being dragged away!" Daisy added, catching on fast.

"And if they're goin' in that direction." Luke pointed toward the other end of the graveyard. "That must mean that they moved Bo over there!"

"But why would they do that?" Cletus asked.

"And why would they put jugs in this grave?" Boss wondered.

"Save the questions for after we've found him!" Uncle Jesse demanded, following Cooter with renewed hope.

The group grabbed some shovels again and followed Cooter like a train as his eyes followed the trail.

They were a little surprised to reach the edge of the cemetery and discover that the trail continued on into the forest.

Suddenly, Cooter felt uncomfortable. He knew what the Mantooths were capable of, and imagined exactly what they might find in the woods.

With that in mind, he turned to Uncle Jesse and Daisy. "Uh, ya'll might wanna stay here while the rest of us go and investigate."

"We ain't stayin' nowhere so just shut ya trap and take me to my nephew." Uncle Jesse ordered.

"Yes sir." Cooter reluctantly replied, nodding at Rosco. In response, Rosco got out his gun, preparing for whatever lay ahead, most of them realizing that friends of the Mantooths could very well be helping them behind the scenes.

Enos noted Luke's painful steps. Taking Luke's arm, he wound it around his own shoulders and stepped forward, assisting him.

As the exhausted group continued into the forest, nothing but the crunch of leaves under their feet and a faraway woodpecker to offer them company, they noted the low, broken branches and disturbed ground that marked the trail where Bo had been taken.

Suddenly, Cooter stopped and put up a hand. "What's that up ahead?" He whispered.

Jesse peered around him and saw what he was talking about.

"Looks like it could be another grave!" He exclaimed.

They all rushed forward and looked at the mound of freshly turned earth, debating on what they saw. Jesse then shook his head.

"Naw, it couldn't be. Ain't wide enough."

Relocating the tracks they had originally followed, they continued deeper into the woods. As they walked, they could eventually make out a faint form in the foggy conditions.

"Looks like a cabin ahead." Daisy pointed out, noting a steady line of smoke that crawled into the sky from the chimney.

"Why I ain't never heard of a cabin bein' way out here." Rosco announced.

"Reckon they're friendly?" Boss asked.

Before anyone could answer, a shot rang out in their direction!

_Well Boss, does that answer your question?_


	16. Chapter 16

As the group scattered to hide themselves behind the nearest trees, another shot rang out through the air. Jesse, who was behind a tree nearest the cabin, risked a peek as he heard the gun being reloaded. Seeing the full situation, he stepped out of his hiding place to face the gunman head-on.

"Chris Ridley! If you so much as point that gun toward me one more time I'll rip a limb offa this here tree and take ya across my knee!"

Startled, the gunman looked up, squinting to see through the fog. "Uncle Jesse? Is that you?"

Feeling that the situation was safe, with the exchange of familiarities, the rest of the group emerged from their hiding places as well. Seeing Enos and Rosco in their uniforms, but unable to seeWHO they were,Chris tightened his hold on his gun.

"Uncle Jesse, you didn't call the feds on me, did you?" Chris asked, hurt evident in his voice.

"No Chris, we're out here lookin' for Bo. There a chance you mighta seen him?"

"Oh of course Uncle Jesse!" Chris relaxed. "I shoulda realized that's why you's out here. He's in the house."

Luke, his hurt leg forgotten, dashed by the others in a sprint toward the cabin. When he got there, he burst inside.

"Bo! Bo where are ya?"

He turned back to the door briefly. "Doc, you might wanna run back to your car and get your medical bag."

As Doc Appleby did just that, Luke continued to yell for Bo, opening two of the three interior doors of the cabin. When he opened the third one, his heart lept in his throat!

Bo lay inside on a bed, deathly still.

Seeing his cousin, Luke rushed inside and knelt by his bed.

"Bo! Thank God!" Luke exclaimed, feeling Bo's hand, happy to find it warm. "Don't worry, Doc Appleby's on his way here now."

To his surprise, Bo opened one eye and peered at Luke. Then groaning, he reached under his head and grabbed his pillow, hugging it against him before turning toward the wall.

"Lemme alone, Luke. I'm tired."

"He should be." Chris added, having just appeared at the door. "He didn't fall asleep 'till two. That'd only put him at about five hours rest. "

"Tired?" Luke looked at his cousin. "What about hurt? He in any pain? Havin' trouble breathin'?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders. "Right as rain."

Luke sat there for a few moments letting the facts sink in. After what he had been through the last few days, after all that had gone through his head concerning the possible outcome of the situation, accepting the fact that Bo had come through without any physical injuries took a moment to get used too.

After that moment had passed though, a large grin appeared on Luke's face. Whooping with joy, he grabbed Bo up in his arms, delivering the youngest Duke a hug that could rival that of a boa constrictor.

"Dang it Luke…." Bo began, still woozy from sleep. "I told ya I's tired!"

"Where is he? Where's Bo?" Luke heard Uncle Jesse asking from outside the door as the rest of the party entered the cabin.

He turned back to Bo. "Well tired or not cousin there ain't no way you're gonna get any sleep till that room full of people out there are satisfied to see you safe and sound!"

With that, Luke pulled Bo out of the bed. In his sleep induced haze, Bo followed, simply trusting Luke's judgment on where they were going.

"Bo!" Daisy exclaimed, covering her mouth as Luke pulled him into the room.

"Hey Daisy." Bo offered, rubbing at his eyes.

As the room erupted in cheers, Daisy gave her cousin a long hug, finally letting go at Uncle Jesse's insistence.

"Ya alright, boy?" Jesse asked, cupping Bo's face in his hands. When Bo nodded yes. Jesse grabbed him up in a hug of his own, almost afraid to let go again.

By the time everyone in the room had finished with the hugging, Bo was wide awake.

"Bo…" Jesse began. "….how'd you get here? How long ya been here?"

"'m not exactly sure, Uncle Jesse." Bo admitted. "At least a day, maybe two?" He questioned, looking at Chris."

"More like a day and a half, I'd say." Chris offered.

"Upon hearing the news, the smile quickly vanished from Jesse's face. "A day and a half." He calmly repeated, looking from Chris to Bo before his face turned blood red.

Bo and Chris jumped slightly when he began yelling. "Ya mean to tell me we've been runnin' round lookin' for ya like chickens with our heads cut off, thinkin' ya might even be dead, worryin' about it so much that we's takin' deep breaths durin' it all to keep from killin' over ourselves, and ya stand there tellin' me ya been snoozin' away in dreamland most of that time instead of contactin' us to let us know you's okay? Luke!"

"Uh, yes Uncle Jesse?" Luke asked as he stood next to Bo, not wanting to get very far away from him just yet.

"Take yer belt off so I can switch these youngin's good. Both of 'em!" He exclaimed as Doc Appleby returned with the medical bag.

"Bo! You're okay!" Doc Appleby exclaimed, giving the boy he had delivered yet another hug. He then turned to look at the group, focusing on Jesse. "Can't say the same for you though, Jesse. Looks like ya blood pressure's skyrocketing.

"I'll go down when I vent my frustrations where they're due!" Jesse announced.

"Now hang on Uncle Jesse." Bo began, holding his hands up. "I'm okay now but that wasn't the case up until last night. Why Chris here, he's been takin' care of me."

"That's right, Uncle Jesse." Chris confirmed. "Bo's real feverish and a bit delusional there for a few hours. He wasn't in any shape to contact anybody."

"Well what about you, Chris? Why couldn't you have called?" Daisy asked.

"Well gosh Daisy, I's hidin' out from the feds. You knew that, Uncle Jesse." Chris replied as Jesse recalled their conversation that now seemed like weeks ago. "When I's back at your place askin' if you knew anywhere I could stash that shine, you told me to try the Indian Caves then find a place to hide. Well, I knew exactly where I could hide- Pa's old shack here.And the lot of ya, even ole' Boss there, knows that when ya hidin' from the feds you usually don't do it in a place that has phones or CB access or anything else."

Luke nodded. "Well that explain why no one contacted us, but what I still don't understand is how you found Bo in the first place."

"Well…." Chirs continued."... when I got to thinkin' about it, I realized that with no roads leadin' up to the shack and It bein' out here in the woods with nothin' around but that Oldfield Cemetery,it would be just as good a place to hide the shine as any.'Course, just cause I decided to keep the shine with me didn't mean I was gonna make it easy for the feds ta throw me in jail if they did catch up to me. So I took the jugs out in the woods to bury 'em. I had 'em all lined up and I'd been diggin' awhile when I heard a car come up to the cemetery. Well since you could kinda see back in the woods from there, I hid real quick. And while I hid, I saw this man get outta the car. He's all by himself and actin' real crazy. He went over to a grave and started yellin' at it like he's talkin' to somebody. I heard him say 'Bo Duke' and watched him reach down and do somethin' fore' he drove off. Well, hearin' Bo's name sparked my curiosity, and when I went to see who that grave belonged to, I didn't see nothing but an oxygen tank and a broken hose goin' down in the ground. It wasn't too hard to figure out what had happened, so I found a shovel layin' nearby and started diggin' and….well….I didn't want that feller to come back and figure out what'd happened, so I hid pa's jugs in there instead and put it all back like it was."

"Wellllll……" Jesse drawled out with a smile, turning to Doc Appleby. "How's that for miracle resources, Homer?"

Bo reached over and patted Chris on the back. "I don't think I's ever happier to see sunshine than when Chris tore off that lid and pulled me outta there."

Everyone laughed. But Uncle Jesse, pulling Bo to the side, wore a serious expression.

"It does my heart good to know you're alright on the outside." Jesse told him. "But I know what ya went through, and I need to know you're alright up here, too." He finished by gently tapping the side of Bo's head.

"Well Uncle Jesse, I don't think I'll go deep cave exploring anytime soon, but all in all, I think I'm okay……I really do."

Jesse then hugged him again, a sigh of relief escaping him as he looked heavenward and mouthed 'Thank you, Lord.'.

_**After losing most of my hair and nails frettin' over the whole thang, danged if nobody even ended up at the hospital. **_

_**On top of the previous bank robbery charge, the Mantooths found themselves charged with attempted murder. But they did get their wish on goin' where nobody could find 'em- least for two weeks. Ya gotta know them prisons pretty well to know where the hole is.**_

_**As for Boss, well, he had to assure the citizens of Hazzard that the bank robber had been caught and sentenced. But even he has a heart somewhere around that fat stomach. Happy to have his money back, he sentenced Luke for robbery right there in the cabin. The punishment? Luke had to wash Boss's car.**_

"And I want the inside vacuumed out real good too." He told Luke as Daisy kissed Jesse in relief.

_**'Course ya'll know the only name that'll ever makethe newspaper or the gossip circles 'ill have Mantooth right behind it. But don't count on Boss not to hold it over ole' Luke's head if a situation ever presents itself.**_

_**But if there is news ya do want to travel fast in Hazzard, there ain't a thang that'll stop it. **__**By the time Doc Appleby had cleaned and taped up Luke's leg and sent 'em all home, the Dukes arrived back at the farm to find an impromptu welcome home party in full swing. Their friends and neighbors had even arranged to have the pickup truck pulled out of the ditch and sittin' near the barn, good as ever. Even 'Dixie' was on her way back in from Tennessee.**_

"Would ya look at that." Bo commented climbing out of the General. The entire yard and barn were full of people and food. Even the Capitol City cloggers had shown up and were beating out a routine on a makeshift stage- some plywood boards that had been placed on the ground.

"He's back!" One of the cloggers squealed. The routine immediately stopped and the dancers and several other ladies ran in his direction, fighting over who was going to hug him first.

"Dance with me, Bo!" One of them said.

"No Bo, dance with me!" Another asked.

Bo grinned a nervous grin and looked at his family. "Uh, looks like we're gonna be busy this afternoon."

"Whaddaya mean 'we'?' Luke asked, patting Bo on the shoulder. "You's the only one who got any sleep last night." With that, Luke walked into the house.

"Night Bo." Daisy added, yawning as she went in behind Luke.

"Make sure they leave us some sandwiches for when we wake up later." Jesse added with a laugh as he ran in behind Daisy.

"Uh, ya'll? Ya'll?" Bo pleaded toward his family as the screen door slammed closed behind Jesse He then turned to the ladies who jumped around him in excitement, offering them another nervous grin.

_**'Ole Bo just thought he's tired before. Wait till them girls get done with him.**_

THE END


End file.
